LIFE 



AND CAMPAIGNS 



Lieut.-Gen. Thomas J. Jackson, 

(STONEWALL JACKSON.) 



PROF. R. L. DABNEY, D.D. 



OF THE UNION TDKOLOGICAL SEMtSART, VIRGINIA. 



ILLUSTRATED >YrrH STEEL PORTIIAIT J^D ELEVE?! DIAGRAMS. 

(bight of translation keseryed by the author 1 




Iteb-fork: 

BLELOCK & CO., 19 BEEKMAN STREET. 

RICHMOND, VA., AND PHILADELPHIA, PA., NATIONAL PUBLI.SHIXG COMPANT. 

186G. 






Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1865. by 
Sterling and Albright, 
i„ the aerk's Office of the Distnct Court of the United States for the District of Cape Fear, in 
North Carolina, and assigned by them to Blelock & Co., Febn.ar>-, 1866. 



By Tranafer. 
JAN 4 1926 



ScRVMcnouR, Whitcomb & Co., 
StftircQtypera, 
13 Water Street, Costom. 



^0 i\u W6xtU\v^ mxt\ (^x^lxmt^ 



SOUIHERS SOLDIERS ffflO FELL IN THE CAUSE FOR WHICH 



JAOKSON GAVE HIS LIFE, 



^ts ^ionnplw is glcbicafcbt iaxth pvofannb ^fsutrf •sixxis SjiuT^atfig, 



BY THE AUTHOB. 



PREFA.CE. 



PREFACE. 



The cause for which General Jackson fought and died, has been 
overthrown. But it is believed that this fact has not diminished the 
affectionate reverence for his memory, and interest in his exploits, felt 
by those who labored with him in that cause. On the contrary, they 
regard the events which have occurred since his lamented death, as 
farther evidences of his genius and prowess. Although he who un- 
dertakes to write the history of an acknowledged failure usually has a 
hopeless and discouraging topic, yet the lustre of Jackson's exploits 
and character is too bright to be dimmed, even by disaster : and his 
is universally admitted, by his friends and foes, to be a name so spot- 
less that it shines independent of the cause with which he was con- 
nected. 

My chief motive for supplying this customary exordium to my book, 
is the wish to answer the natural question in the reader's mind, what 
right I suppose myself to have, to claim qualification for the task I 
have assumed. My answer is, that it has been entrusted to me by the 
widow and family of General Jackson, supported by the urgency of 
his successor in command, Lieutenant-General Ewell, of his venerable 
pastor, and of many other friends, in, and out of the army. One ad- 
vantage for my work, I may claim, which brings far more of responsi- 
bility than of credit to me, in the possession of the fullest collection 
of materials. The correspondence of General Jackson with his family, 
his pastor, and his most prominent friends in public life, has been in my 
hands, together with copies of aU the important ofHcial papers on file in 
the War Department of the late Confederate Government. I have had 
the advantage of the fullest illustrations of the battle-fields and the 



M PREFACE. 



fbcatrc of war wlierc General Jackson acted, from the topograph- 
ical clcpartraent of the same government, and from careful personal 
inspection. It was also my privilege to enjoy his friendship, although 
not under his orders, during the campaign of Manassa's, in 18G1 ; and 
to serve next liis person, as chief of his Staff, during the memorable 
campaigns of the Valley and the Cluckahominy, in 1863. So that I 
liad personal kno-wlcdge of the events on which the structure of his 
military fame'was first reared. 

My prime object has been to portray and vindicate his Christian 
character, that his coimtrymen may possess it as a precious example, 
and may honor that God in it, whom he so delighted to honor. It is 
for tliis purpose that the attempt was made so carefully to explain and 
defend his action, as citizen and soldier, in recent events. Next, it 
was desired to unfold his military genius, as displayed in his cam- 
paigns. The prominent characteristic of General Jackson was his 
scrupulous ti-uthfulness. This Life has been ^^^:itten under the 
profound impression, that no quality could be so appropriate as this, 
in the narrative which seeks to commemorate his noble character. 
Hence, the most laborious pains have been taken to verify every fact, 
and to give the story in its sober accurar'y, and witli impartial justice 
to all. I am well aware that perfection is not the privilege of man, in 
any of his works ; and hence I must be prepared to be convinced, by 
the criticisms of others, that I have not been wholly successful in this 
aim. But I trust I have been so far succersful, as to receive credit for 
right intentions. And especially would I declare, that in relating the 
share borne by General Jackson's comrades and subordinates in his 
campaigns, I have been actuated by a cordial and friendly desire to do 
justice to all. If I shall seem to any to hava done less than this, it 
will be my misfortune, and not my intention. 

If my story presents the hero without any of those bizmre traits, 
which the popular fancy loves to find in its especial favorites, it is 
hoped that the pictiurc will be, for this reason, more symmotrical, 
and if not so startling, more pleasing to every cultivated mini. 
The reader may at least have tlic satisfaction of knowing that it 
is the correct picture, save that no pencil can do justice to his 



PREFACE. VI k 

devoted patriotism, his diligence, his courage, and the sanctity of his 
morals. 

The reader Avlll note a certain polemic tone in the discussions ^hich 
attend the narrative ; and while strict truthfulness has been studied, 
candid expression has been given to the feelings natural to a partici- 
pant in the recent struggle. The explanation is, in part, this : that 
the whole work was written before the termination of the contest ; the 
first portion, containing all the controversial matter, was published in 
Great Britain more than a year ago, and ha? been circulated in that 
country and this ; and the remainder of the biogi'aphy was in process of 
publication when the Confederate armies surrendered. The animus 
of my book will not appear strange to any oi\e who remembers, that 
when it. was published, my fellow-citizens were universally engaged in 
a strenuouswar against the United States, and I was myself in the 
military commission of the Confederate States. The question may be 
asked. Does not the termination of that contest by the complete 
submission of the South, point out the propriety of modifying the tone 
of the work ? After a careful consideration of this question, I have 
been constrained to believe, that it was best to leave my original 
work substantially untouched. As has been stated, the first eight chap- 
ters, containing all that is most controversial, had been irrevocably given 
to the public, many months before the end of the war. To attempt to 
recall and suppress it now, Avould appear rather a foolish scrupulosity 
than sound wisdom. Nor would this course be consistent with the 
interests of literature. It has been often said, that cotemporarics 
cannot write impartial histories of their own times, because of their 
too lively sympathy with the passions which agitate the actors. It is 
more cdrtainly true, that if cotemporaries do not write, with such 
partiality or impartiality as they may, it will be impossible for any 
other historian in posterity, to Avrlte a truthful narrative. None but 
eye-witnesses and actors can contribute the facts, which are to be the 
materials of future history. And their facts are esteemed by t)he 
philosophic and judicial compiler of the subsequent age, as scarcely 
more imporcant than their animus. He wishes to know, not only 
what men did, but how they felt, — how the events transpiring 



Viii PREFACE. 

affected them, — from what impulses and views they acted. While 
he docs not blindly adopt the passions of cither party, it is these 
which enable him to reproduce the very complexion and color of the 
times he describes. Hence, it is for the interests of historic truth that 
those who describe cotemporary events, should give candid expression 
to the emotions of their times. 

It may also be asked : Does not the duty of promotiiig mutual for- 
bearance, and the restoration of good feeling between the sections 
lately at war, require the suppression of controverted opinions, and of 
accusations, which, however true, can now be urged with no good 
result ? In answering this objection, I shall candidly acknowledge 
myself utterly sceptical, both by temperament and conviction, of that 
deceitful and glozing philosophy, by which it is dictated. There is no 
true and solid basis for public well-being, but rectitude. The truth, 
manfully spoken, can never be unwholesome. If the complaints of 
the conquered section are just, then they ought to be stated and dis- 
cussed, until a stable foundation for peace, good governmenty good 
feeling, and prosperity, is laid in just and magnanimous treatment. 
If those complaints are unjust, still it is best that they be candidly 
stated, respectfully listened to, and calmly discussed, as long as they 
are sincerely entertained in the hearts of the sufferers : for only in this 
way can they be eradicated. It is to me simply incrediblq, that a 
people so shrewd and practical as those of the United States, should 
expect us to have discarded, through the logic of the sword merely, 
the convictions of a lifetime ; or that they could be deceived by us, 
should we be base enough to assert it of ourselves. They know that the 
people of the South were conquered, and not convinced ; and that the 
authority of the United States was accepted by us from necessity, and 
not from preference. Should they hear the Southern people now dis- 
claiming and reprobating the principles which are unfolded in my 
book as the animating principles of General Jackson, they must in- 
evitably remember, that this Southern people, three years ago, was 
unanimously applauding and inciting him in acting them out : so that 
it would be self-evident to our conquerors, that we were either traitor- 
ously false to our darling hero, then; or arc equally false to them, 



PREFACE. LX 

now. The people of tlie United States have too much shrewdness 
ever to suppose, that the sons of the Revolutionary sires who, as their 
comrades, assisted in winning liberty from the British Lion, and who 
have recently given new proofs of their undegenerate manhood, are 
spaniels, to be made affectionate by stripes. The people of the South 
went to war, because they sincerely believed (what their political 
fathers had taught them, with one voice, for two generations) that the 
doctrine of State-sovereignty for which they fought, was absolutely 
essential as the bulwark of the liberties of the people. They have 
been convinced by main force, that they are unable to save that doc- 
trine. The only Avay to make them truly loyal again to the govern- 
ment of the United States, is to convince them by just treatment, 
that they went to war under a misapprehension, and that their lib- 
erties may still be securely and fully enjoyed under a consolidated 
government. It v/ould be only a useless and degrading concealment, 
for the people of the South to profess a suppression of the honest con- 
victions upon which they have lately acted, either at the dictate of 
deceit on their part, or of persecution on the part of their conquerors. 
For these reasons, it has appeared to me every way most manly and 
beneficial, to leave this explication and defence of General Jackson's 
resistance to the Federal Government, as it was written during the 
progress of the conflict. Its suppression would conceal nothing, and 
deceive nobody : its publication will give to subsequent generations a 
lively pictm-e of the temper of the times. 

But I am ready to add, with equal candor, that when I thus declare 
boldly the principles upon which the Virginians of 1861 acted, I do 
not intend to be understood as retracting that acquiescence in the 
result of the arbitrament of the sword, and that submission promised 
by me in common with almost the whole South. I have voluntarily 
sworn to obey the government of the United States, as at present 
established and expounded to us by force of arms. That oath it is my 
purpose to keep. The Federal agent who administered it to me 
taught me expressly that its obligation was of this extent, and no 
more : that it did not bind me to think or say the principles on which 



X PREFACE. 

T had acted were erroneous ; but to abstain, in future, from the asser 
tioQ of them by force of arms. 

Jt only remains to add a few words in explanation of the illustra- 
tions which accompany the text. It is earnestly recommended to tho 
attentive reader, that he shall connect his perusal of the descriptive 
parts of the nax-rative with a careful study of the map of Vii'ginia. 
This is so accessible to all Americans, that it was thought superfluous 
to burden this work with the expense of its insertion. A simple 
diagram is inserted, to facilitate the comprehension of each of the 
more important battles. These plates have been carefully prepared, 
from actual inspections and siu-vcys, made by Confederate engineers ; 
but they are simplified by leaving out all except the most essential 
lines and features. The intelligent reader, even though not a military 
man, will readily apprehend, that the representation of the positions 
of brigades and divisions of troops in action, by lines upon a diagram, 
can only be approximately correct. The lines of ink are, of course, 
stationary; the lines of troops in action are never long go. The 
relative position assigned to two divisions on the diagram may be a 
coiTcct representation of their relation on the field of actual strife, for 
a fleeting moment only ; a minute more may have changed it. The 
diagram must, perforce, either contain both of two divisions at once, 
which in fact only occupied the field successively ; or it must suggest 
a still gi-avcr error, by the total omission of one of them. But if 
these obvious considerations are borne in mind, and the illustrations 
are studied in connection with the narrative, they will convey no 
mistake, and will be found to represent, with general correctness, the 
positions and movements of the Confederate troops. 

ROBERT L. DABNEY. 

Union Tueological Seminaky, 
Va., April 1, 1866. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

Parentage and Eakly Yeaks, 1 — 23 

CHAPTER II. 
The Cadet, 29—40 

CHAPTER III. 
In Mexico, 41 — 58 

CHAPTER IV. 
Life in Lexington, 59 — 124 

CHAPTER V. 
Secession, 125 — 176 

CHAPTER VI. 

FiEST Campaign in the Valley, . . . 177 — 205 

CHAPTER VII. 
Manassas, 206—251 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Winter Campaign in the Valley, 1861-62, . 252 — 286 

CHAPTER IX. 

General View of the Campaigns of 1862, . 287 — 307 



CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER X. 

Keknstown, 

CHAPTER XI. 

M'DOWELL, 

CPIAPTER XII. 

WlNCHESTEK, ....... 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Port Republic, ....... 393 — 430 

CHAPTER XIV. 
The Richmond Campaign, .... 431 — 485 

CHAPTER XV. 
Cedak Run, 48G— 508 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Second Manassa's, ..... 509 — 541 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Tue Campaign in IMauyland, .... 542 — 581 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

FUEDERICKSBUKG, • . . 582 659 

CHAPTER XIX. 

CuANCELLOnSVILLE, 6G0 705 

CHAPTER XX. 
Death and Burial, TOG — 742 



LIFE OF 
LIEUT.-&EN. THOMAS J. JACKSON. 



CHAPTER I. 

PARENTAGE, AND EARLY YEARS. 

The family from which General Jackson came, was founded 
in Western Yirginia by John Jackson, an emigrant from Lon- 
don. His stock was Scotch-Irish ; and it is most probable that 
John Jackson himself was removed by his parents from the 
north of Ii'eland to London, in his second year. Nearly fifty 
years after he left England, his son. Colonel George Jackson, 
while a member of the Congress of the United States, formed a 
friendship with the celebrated Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, 
afterwards the victor of New Orleans, and President ; and the 
two traced their ancestry up to the same parish near London- 
derry. Although no more intimate relationship could be estab- 
lished between the families, such a tie is rendered pro])able by 
their marked resemblance in energy and courage, as illustrated 
not only in the career of the two great commanders who have 
made the name immortal, but of other members of their houses. 
John Jackson was brought up in London, and became a reputa- 
ble and prosperous tradesman. He determined to transfer his 



2 LIFE OF UliUT.- GENERAL JACKSON. 

rising fortunes to the British colonics in America, and crossed 
the seas in 1748, landing first in the plantations of Lord Balti- 
more. In Calvert County, Maryland, he married Elizabeth 
Cummins, a young woman also from London, of excellent 
diaracter and respectable education. The young couple, after 
the common fashion of American emigrants, proceeded at onci' 
to seek for new and cheaper lands on which to establish their 
household gods, and made their first home on the south branch 
of the Potomac River, at the place now known as Mooreficlds, 
the comity seat of Hardy County. But after residing for a time 
in this lovely valley, John Jackson, with his young family, 
croaeed the main Alleghany ridge into Northwestern Virginia, 
where lands yet wider allured his enterprising spirit. He fixed 
his home on the Buchanan River, in what was first Randolph, 
but is now Upshur County, at a place long known as Jackson's 
Fort, now occupied by the little village of Buchanan. Here he 
spent his active life, and reared his family. 

He is said to have been a spare, diminutive man, of plain 
mind, quiet but determined character, sound judgment, and 
excellent morals. His wife was a woman of masculine stature ; 
and her understanding and energies corresponded to thp vigor 
of her bodily frame. When the young couple emigrated to the 
Northwest, the Indians were still contesting the occupancy of 
its teeming valleys with the white men. The colonists were 
compelled to provide for their security by building stockade- 
.forts, into which they retreated with their families and cattle at 
every alarm of a savage incursion. It is the tradition that, in 
more than one of these sieges, Elizabeth Cummins proved her- 
self, though a woman, to have "the stomach and mettle of a 
man," and rendered valuable service by aiding and inspiriting 
the resistance of the defenders. In her industry and enterprise 
was realized King Lemuel's description of the ways of the vir- 



ANCESTRY. 6 

tuous woman : " She consideretli a field, and buyetb it ; with the 
fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.'' Several patents 
are still in existence, conveying to her, in her own name, lands 
which were afterwards the valuable possessions of her posterity. 
They have usually claimed that the characteristics of their race 
were largely inherited from her ,• that it was her sterling integ- 
rity, vigorous intellect, and directness of purpose which gave 
them their type. 

The picturesque country, which now became the home ol tne 
Jacksous, descends gradually from the watershed of the Appala- 
chian range to the Ohio river, but is filled with ridges parallel 
to the main crest, of which the nearest are also lofty mountains, 
while the more western subside into bold and fertile hills. The 
grander heights were covered with magnificent forests of spruce 
and fir, intermingled with tangled thickets of laurel: but as* the 
traveller ;ipproached the Ohio, and the mountains sank into 
swelling highlands, he found the ridges fertile, almost beyond 
belief; the slopes, clothed to their tops 'with giant groves of 
oak and chestnut, poplar, linden, beech, and sugar-maple ; the 
hills, separated by placid streams flowing through smooth 
valleys and meadows, and their sides everywhere filled with 
beds of the richest coal. The waters which refresh this goodly 
land flow northward, and compose the Monongahela, which 
contributes its streams at Pittsburg, in Pennsylvania, to form 
the Ohio in union with those of the Allegliany. The mingled 
currents then turn southward, and form the western border of 
Noi'thern Virginia, separating it from the territory of Ohio. 
As all highlands usually decline in elevation with the enlarge- 
ment of their watercourses, the northern part of this district, 
embraced within the boundaries of Peuns^dvania, is less rugged 
than the southern. Settlements, therefore, naturally proceeded 
from the smoother regions of Western Pennsylvania, into the 



4 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

hills of Northwestern Virginia ; and thus it came to pass that, 
ill the latter district, the northern counties were at first the 
more cultivated, and the southern bore to them the relation of 
frontiers. The emigrants found that they had not descended 
very far from the loftier ranges of the Alleghany and Cheat 
mountains before they left behind them the rigors of their 
Alpine climate. Wherever the valleys were cleared of tlieir 
woods, they clothed themselves with the richest sward, and 
teemed with corn, wheat, the vine, the peach, and all the pro- 
ducts of Eastern Virginia. But this fertile region could only 
be reached from the east by a few rude highways, almost 
impracticable for carriages, which wound their way among and 
over the ridges of a wide labyrinth of mountains. 

Hither the patriarch of the Jacksons removed before the war 
of the American Revolution. In that struggle, he and his elder 
sons bore their part as soldiers ; and at its close, they returned 
to their rural pursuits. With the practical sagacity for which 
the Scotch-Irish emigrant is always noted, he and his wife bent 
their energies to founding fortunes for their children, by acquir- 
ing the most valuable lands of the country, while they were 
unoccupied and cheap. / In this aim they were successful, and 
their numerous children were all endowed with farms, which 
now make their holders wealthy. After a long and active life, 
they removed to the house of Colonel George Jackson, their 
eldest son, at Clarksburg, the county seat of Harrison County, 
now a village of note on the southern branch of the great Bal- 
tiuiorc and Ohio Railroad, and about forty miles from the 
Peunsylvanian border. ' The death of the old man, in this quiet 
retreat, is thus recorded by one of the most distinguished of his 
descendants, John G. Jackson, of Clarksburg, Judge of the 
Court of the United States for the Western District of Virginia. 
He writes to Mrs. Madison, whose sister he had married, in 



DEATH OF JOHN JACKSOX. O 

1801 : — "Death, ou tlie 2oth of September, put a period to tlie 
existence of my aged grandfather, John Jackson, in the eighty- 
sixth year of his age. The long life of this good man -^v?- 
spent in those noble and ru'tuous pursuits, which endear men 
to their acquaintance, and make their decease sincerely regretted 
by all the good and virtuous. He ^vas a native of England. 
and migrated hither in the year 174:8. He took an active part 
in the revolutionary war in favor of Independence, and, upon the 
establishment of it, returned to his farming, which he laboriously 
pursued until the marriage of his' younger son, when he was 
prevailed upon by my father to come and reside near him ; there 
he lived for several years with his wife, enjoying all his mental 
faculties, and great corporeal strength, until a few days before 
his death. I saw him breathe his last in the arms of my aged 
grandmother, and can truly add, that to live and die as he did . 
would be the excess of happiness. 

" He left a valuable real-estate at the entire disposal of tlie 
widow, with the concurrence of all the natural heirs, as his lib- 
erality had been amply experienced by them all In his lifetime.'" 

Elizabeth, his wife, survived him until 1825, beloved and 
respected by all who knew her, and reached the extreme ago of 
one hundred and Jive years. Hers were stamina, both of the 
physical and moral constitution, fitting her to rear a race that 
were men indeed. The reader wUl be detained a moment, to 
note the names and characters of her children, in order that the 
springs of General Jackson's nature may be the better illus- 
trated, and also that his widely scattered kindred may be 
enabled to ascertain their relationship to this world-famous 
hero. The eldest son was George Jackson, who lived at ClarksH 
burg, the seat of justice for Harrison County, and was a promi-( 
nent and influential man in the settlement of Xorthwesternj " 
Virginia. Having taken part with his father in the Revolution- 



6 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

ary War, he became a colonel in the forces ■which, at the close 
of the great struggle, expelled the Indians finally from his 
district. He was one of the first delegates from Harrison 

■ County in the General Assembly of Virginia, was a member for 
that county in the State Convention by which Virginia accepted 
the Federal Constitution, and was first delegate from his district 
to the first Congress of the United States which sat under it. 
After his father's death, he removed to Zanesville, Oliio, where 
his life was ended. The second son was Edward, the grand- 
father of General Jackson, who, after several removals, fixed 
his home on the west fork of the Monongahela, four miles north 
of Weston, the present chief town of Lewis County. He was 
a man of a spare and athletic frame, energetic character, and 
good understanding, beloved and respected by his acquaintances. 
Filling for a long time the place of surveyor for the great 
county of Randolph, he acquired much valuable land, and left to 
each one of his fifteen children a respectable p3,trimony. He, 
with his father and elder brother, was actively engaged in the 
Revolutionary and Indian wars. 

The third soi? was Samuel Jackson, who emigi'ated to Indiana, 
and left a numerous family near the town of Terre Haute. 
The fourth and fifth sons, John and Henry, lived near the place 
of their birth on Buchanan river ; but of their many children, 
several found their way to the extreme West. Each of tlicse 

I five sons of John Jackson was twice married, and left a numer- 
ous progeny. There were also three daughters, who married 
residents of the country, and left descendants bearing the name 
of Davis, Brake, and Rcgar. 

Talent and capacity were not limited to this second genera- 
tion. The sons of George Jackson deserve especially to be 
noted among the men of the third generation. Of these, the 
eldest was John G. Jackson, a lawyer of great distinction at 



JOHN Jackson's posterity. 7 

Clarksburg. He succeeded his father in Congress, married lirst 
Miss Payne, the sister of the accomplished lady who married 
Mr. Madison, President of the United States; and then, the 
only daughter of Mr. Meigs, Governor of Ohio, afterwards Post- 
master-General ; who was appointed first Federal Judge for the 
district of West Virginia. This office he filled with distinction 
until his death about the year 1825. He was a learned lawyer, 
a man of great ene^-gy and enterprise, and sought to develop 
the resources of his country by the building of iron furnaces 
and forges, mills, woollen factories, and salt-works. These 
endeavors absorbed large sums of money, and at his death left 
his princely estate heavily embarrassed. The other sons of this 
family were Edward, a respectable physician; William L., a 
lawyer, and father of a relative and cotemporary of General 
Jackson; Colonel William L. Jackson, late Lieutenant-Governor 
of the State, and then Judge of the Superior Court ; and George 
Washington, long a citizen of Ohio, and now an honorable exile, 
by reason of political persecution, for his fidelity to his native 
land. It was his son, Colonel A.lfre(i Jackson, who, after serv- 
aig on the staff of the General, received a mortal wound in the 
battle of Cedar Eun, and now lies near him, in the graveyard of 
Lexington. 

The character which the founders impressed upon their house 
will now be understood. From their forethought and virtues, it 
became the most noted, wealthy, and influential in their country. 
They usually possessed the best lands and most numerous 
slaves, occupied the posts of influence and power which were in 
the gift of their fellow-citizens, and sent some member of their 
family to the General Assembly of their State, or the Congress 
at Washington. They were marked by strong and character- 
istic physiognomies, close family attachments, determination 
and industry in their undertakings, and a restless love of adven- 



8 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

ture. Their race is now scattered from Virginia to Oregon. 
More than one of them has been led, by liis love of roving, to 
the most secluded recesses of the Rocky Mountains, as explorers 
and hunters. All of them were energetic and skilful to acquire 
wealth, but not all of them were able to retain it. Many of 
the second and third generations were noted for a passion for 
litigation — prompted not so much by avarice as by the love of 
intellectual excitement, and by a temper intolerant of supposed 
injustice ; and almost the whole race were utterly incapable of 
resisting the fascination of machinery. Every Jackson owned 
a mill or factory of some sort — many of them more than one, — 
where they delighted to exercise the ingenuity and resources of 
the self-taught mechanic. In a country like theirs, of sparse 
population, and more devoted to the rearing of cattle than of 
grain, it may easily be conceived that these toys ministered 
more to their possessors' pleasure than to their wealth.' Colonel 
Edward Jackson, the grandfather of General Jackson, was, as 
has been said, the second son of his parents. His second 
marriage brought him nine, sons and daughters. His first wife, 
by birth a Haddcn, bore three sons, George, David and Jona- 
than, and three daughters, of whom one married a gentleman 
named White, and two, respectable farmers of German extrac- 
tion, named Brake. 

Jonathan Jackson, the father of the subject of this work, 
adopted the profession of law, having pursued his preparatory 
studies in the family, and under the guidance of his distinguished 
cousin, Judge Jackson of Clarksburg. His patronage induced 
him to go to that place — the last seat of his forefather's resi- 
dence — to prosecute his calling. About the same time he 
married Julia Neale, the daughter of an intelligent merchant 
in the village of Parkersburg, in AVood County, on the Ohio 
river. Tiic fruits of this marriage were four children, of whom 



FATHER OF GENERAL JACKSO]^T. 9 

the eldest was named Warren, the second Elizabeth, the third 
Thomas Jonathan, and the fourth Laura. Thomas was born in 
Clarksburg, January 21, 1824. Tlie early death of his parents 
and dispersion of the little family, obliterated the record of the 
exact date, so that General Jackson himself was unable to fix it 
with certainty. Of these children none now live save thp 
youngest, who survives as a worthy matron in Randolph 
County. 

. Jonathan Jackson, the General's father, is said to have been, 
what was unusual in his race, a man of short stature ; his face 
was ruddy, pleasing, and intelligent; his temper genial and 
affectionate, and susceptible of the warmest and most generous 
attachments. He was a man of strong, distinct understanding, 
and held a respectable rank as a lawyer. While he displayed 
little of the popular eloquence of the advocate, his knowledge 
and judgment made him a valued counsellor, and his chief dis- 
tinction was as a Chancery lawyer. His patrimony was ade- 
quate to all reasonable wants; the lands which he inherited 
from his father are now so valuable as to confer independence 
on their present owners. But a temper too social and facile 
betrayed him into some of the prevalent dissipations of the 
country; incautious engagements embarrassed him with the 
debts of his friends ; and high play assisted to swallow up his 
estate. He at length became dependent wholly upon his pro- 
fessional labors, which yielded his family only a moderate sup- 
port, while he owned no real estate but the house in which he 
lived. Not very long after the birth of his fourth child, and 
when Thomas was three years old, his daughter Elizabeth was 
seized with a malignant fever. He watched her sick-bed until 
her death, with a tender assiduity which-, cpmbined with his 
grief at the bereavement, and perhaps with his business troubles, 
prostrated his strength ; and within a fortnight after his daughter 



10 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON, 

he sunk, by the same disease, into a premature grave. This 
unexpected end was all that was needed to complete the ruin of 
his afiairs. Out of their wreck absolutely nothing seems to 
have been saved for his widow and babes. The Masonic Order, 
of which Jonathan Jackson was an officer, gave to the widow a 
little cottage of a single room. In this dwelling she applied 
herself to the task of earning a living for herself and children, 
by her needle and the labors of a little school. 

She is represented as a laJy of graceful and commanding 
presence, spare, and above the ordinary height of females, of a 
comely and engaging countenance. Her mind was cultivated 
and intelligent ; and it is probable that much of the talent of 
her children was inherited through her. Her constitution had 
pulmonary tendencies, which were evidently entailed on her 
distinguished son. Her mind was sprightly, and her tempera- 
ment mercurial, at one time rising to gaiety under the stimulus 
of socflal enjoyment, and at another sinking to despondency 
under the pressure of her troubles. But her character was 
crowned with unaffected piely. While her parentage and edu- 
cation would have inclined her to the Presbyterian persuasion, 
the difficulty of reaching their ministrations caused her to 
become a member of the Wesleyan or Methodist communion. 
General Jackson always spoke of her with tender affection, 
and traced his first sacred impressions to her lessons. When a 
daughter was born to him a few months before his own death, 
he caused her to be baptized with his mother's name, Julia 
Neale. In the year 1830, ]Mrs. Jackson, whose youth and beauty 
still fitted her to please, married Mr. Woodson, a lawyer of 
Cumberland County, Virginia, whom the rising importance of 
the Norlliwest had attracted, along with many other Eastern 
Virginians, to that country. lie was a sort of decayed gentle- 
man, much Mrs. Jackson's senior, — a widower, without pro- 



HIS MOTHER DIES. 11 

pert}^, but of fair cliaracter,' and of a popular, social turn. 
The marriage was distasteful to Mrs. Jackson's relatives. They 
threatened, as a sort of penalty for it, to take the maintenance 
and education of the children out of the widow's hands, and 
offered, as an inducement on the opposite side,; liberal pecuniary 
aid if she would continue to bear her first husband's name. But 
love, as usual, was omnipotent. Upon her marriage to Mr. Wood- 
son, his scanty resources compelled her to accept the protection 
of her former husband's kindred for her children, which she had 
at first declined as an infliction. The second husband's profes- 
sional success was limited, and he very soon accepted from his 
friend. Judge Duncan, who had also intermarried witli the Jack- 
son family, the office of Clerk of the Court in the county of Fay- 
ette, which lies on the New River, west of Greenbrier. After one 
year of married life, Mrs. Woodson's constitution sank upon giving 
birth to a son ; two months after, she died, on the 4th of Decem- 
ber, 1831; and her remains await their resurrection not far 
from the famous Hawk's Nest of New Eiver. Her husband 
announced her death to her friends in these words : — "No Chris- 
tian on' earth, no matter what evidence he might have had of a 
happy hereafter, could have died with more fortitude. Per- 
fectly in her senses, calm and deliberate, she met her fate 
without a murmur or a struggle. Death for her had no sting; 
the grave could claim no victory. I have known few women 
of equal, none of superior merit." The infant, thus early 
bereaved of her care, lived to man's estate, and died of pul- 
monary disease, doubtless inherited • from hi§ mother, in the 
State of Missouri. Thomas, then seven years old, with his 
brother and sister, had been sent for to visit his mother in 
her sickness, and he remained to witness her death. To his 
Christian friends he stated, long afterwards, that the wholesome 
impression of her dying instructions and prayers, and of her 



12 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

triumph over the grave, had never been erased from liis licart. 
In his manhood, he delighted to think of her as the impersona- 
tion of sweetness, grace, and beauty ; and he could never relate, 
without tenderness, the events of his departure from his uncle's 
house, when she had him mounted behind the last of his father's 
slaves, " good old Uncle Robinson," and recalled him so anx- 
iously, to give the last touch to the arrangements for his com- 
fort. She had no other legacy to leave him than her prayers ; 
but these availed to shield him through all the untoward inci- 
dents of his orphanage and his eventful life; and they were 
answered by the most glorious endowments of grace and virtue 
which the heart of a dying parent could crave for a child, — a 
cheering instance of God's faithfulness to his people and their 
seed. 

The orphans thus thrown upon the wide world, rcccivecs 
shelter at first from their father's sisters, Mrs. White — for whom 
Thomas always cherished a tender gratitude — and ^Mrs. Brake. 
His home was with the latter, about four miles from Clarks- 
burg. He was then a pretty and engaging child, with rosy and 
almost feminine cheeks, waving brown hair, and large pensive 
blue eyes. It was said of him that, in the waywardness and 
levity wliich are usually seen at his age, he never was a child. 
The little fellow had a manly innate courtesj^, and strange, 
quiet though tfulness, united with a determination beyond his 
years, which drew wonder and love from his relatives. Ar| 
incident, which is most fully authenticated, occurring when 
he was but eight j'ears old, shows that nature made him, from 
the first, of another mould from that of common men. He 
ai)peared one day at the house of his fatlier's cousin^, Judge 
•John G. Jackson, in Clarksbui*g, and addressing Mrs. Jackson 
by the title of aunt, which he usually gave her, asked her to 
give him dinner.- While he was eating it, he remarked, in a 



CHILDISH TRAITS. . 13 

very quiet tone, " Uncle Brake and I dou't agree ; I have quit 
him, and shall not go back any more." His kind hostess re- 
monstrated 'against this purpose as a childish whim. He 
listened most respectfully to all her reasoning, but returned to 
the same resolute declaration, — "No; Uncle Brake and I can't 
agree ; I have quit, and shall not go back any more." It would 
seem that the husband of his aunt, though an honest, was an 
exacting man, and had made the mistake of attempting to 
govern the orphan through force, instead of through his under- 
standing and conscience. And the singular child, having 
concluded that his stay under his authority would never be 
congenial, had calmly determined, with the same inexorable 
will which he displayed in after years, to end the connexion at 
once. From Judge Jackson's he went to a favorite cousin's, 
lately married and living in her own house, and asked leave of 
her to spend the night. In the course of the evening he 
announced his purpose of leaving his home, and, after listening 
respectfully to her remonstrances likewise, returned resolutely 
to his old formula : " No ; Uncle Brake and I don't agree ; I 
have quit there ; I shall not go back any more." Accordingly, 
the next morning, he set out from Clarksburg alone, and trav- 
elled on foot to the former home of his grandfather, in Lewis 
Count}'-, about eighteen miles distant, then belonging to Cummins 
Jackson, the half-brother of his father. There he was kindly 
received, and, in the affectionate protection of his uncle and of 
two maiden aunts, afterwards Mrs. Carpenter and Mrs. Hall, 
then residing with him, found the home he wanted. It was the 
more attractive to him that his elder brother, Warren, was now 
sharing the same refuge. This remarkable man deserves our 
notice, not only for his paternal kindness to the orphan, but for 
the influence which he exerted, and for that which, contrary to 
all human calculation, he failed to exert upon liim. He was 



l-i LIFE OF i.lEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

then approaching middle life, a bachelor, of lofty stature and 
most athletic frame, and full of all the rugged energy of his 
race. The native powers of his mind, although not cultivated 
by a liberal education, were so strong, that some of his acquaint- 
ances have declared him to be, in their opinion, the ablest man 
they ever knew. Uis will was as strong as his understanding, 
and his passions were vehement and enduring. As a friend, he 
was steadfast, and generous, without stint; and, though forbear- 
ing and slow to take offcjice, as an enemy he was equally bitter 
and unforgiving. Such was his liberality, that his poorer neigh- 
bors and dependants adored him. lie never had political 
aspirations for himself, but his unbounded influence usually gave 
the honors of his country to the person whom he favored. 
Yet his business morals, save when he was bound by his own 
voluntary promises, which he always sacredly fulfilled, were 
accounted unscrupulous; and he was so passionately fond of 
litigation, that his legal controversies consumed a large part 
of the income of a liberal estate and the earnings of his own 
giant industry. He owned a valuable farm and mills, and was 
one of the largest slaveholders in the county of Lewis. His 
occupations were agriculture, and the preparation of lumber 
and flour, diversified with the hardy sports of a forest coun- 
try. In this plain but plentiful homo, Thomas lived until 
he became a cadet of West Point, with one noted interval, 
which shall be related. He received all the privileges of 
a son of the family. The relation existing between him and 
his uncle was, from the first, remarkable. He treated the little 
boy more as a companion than as a child, soothing for him all 
the ruggedness of his nature, imparting to him his plans and 
thoughts as though to an equal and counsellor, making him his 
delighted pupil in all the rural arts in which he was himself an 
unrivalled adept, and always rather requesting than demanding 



LIFE AT CUMMINS JACKSON'S. 15 

his compliance with the discipline of his household. The child 
was thus stimulated iu the work of his own self-government 
fi-om a very early period, and left to an independence of action 
more suited for a man. But he did not disappoint his uncle's 
confidence. His peculiar method with the boy may perhaps- 
be accounted for in part by the singular temperament of the 
I'ace — passionately attached to the idea of independence ; in 
part by the relaxation, of parental restraints, which usually 
prevails in new countries ; and partly by the profound, sagacity 
of the guardian, who saw at a glance the noble nature with 
which he had to deal. lie showed his affection, also, by 
earnestly seeking for Thomas, as well as for his elder brother, 
the best education he could place within their reach. He 
required of them a regular attendance upon the country school 
of the neighborhood, which Thomas was prompt to render; but 
Warren chafed under its restraintSo He was now a hardy lad 
of fourteen years old, and, Jackson-like, began to feel his self- 
reliance, and to find the bread of dependence irksome. His 
discontent was probably increased by the consciousness that his 
little brother was more the favorite than himself. He therefore 
demanded that he should be allowed to seek his own fortunes, 
and choose his own home. His uncle, charac^eristicall}^, gave 
him leave to please himself; and he departed, after a few 
months' residence. But he also induced Thomas, partly by his 
affection for him, and partly by the assumption of the authority 
of a senior, to go with him. They resorted at first to the house 
of Mr. Neale, a maternal uncle, a most respectable man, living 
on the Ohio river, at that island which has been made famous 
by the name and misfortunes of Blennerhasset, and the eloquence 
of Mr. Wirt. This relative also received them with cordial 
kindness. But Warren found that his love dictated the same 
policy which the affection of Cummins Jackson had prompted, 



16 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

requiring them to pursue tlicir studies diligently at school. He 
soon wearied again of the restraint, and, taking his little brother, 
the next spring he went down the Ohio river, and disappeared 
from the knowledge of his friends for a time. In the fall of the 
year they returned, by the charity of some steamboat-master 
travel-soiled, ragged, and emaciated by the ague. Their story was 
— that they had floated down to the junction of the Ohio with the 
Father of Waters, seeking adventures and a livelihood, until at 
length they contracted to cut firewood for the furnaces of the 
steamers, on one of the lonely islands of the Mississippi, near the 
southwestern corner of Kentucky. Here the two children had 
spent the summer alone, living in a temporary cabin, earning their 
bread by this rough labor, amidst the dreary forests of cotton- 
wood, and encircled by the turbid river ; until their sufferings from 
the ague compelled them to seek a way homewards. How strange 
a world this for the fair and pensive child of nine summers ! 
But such was the sturdiness of his nature, that he seemed 
scarcely to feel either its incongruity or its hardship. On 
their return to their native region, Thomas declared that he 
should go back permanently to the protection of his uncle 
Cummins Jackson, because he had experienced his kindness 
and loved his home. But Warren seemed still to feel some 
repugnance, and preferred to seek a refuge with one of his 
father's sisters, living near the old home of the famil}', on Bu- 
chanan river, Mrs. Isaac Brake. Here he was kindly received. 
The comforts of Thomas's home soon repaired the ravages of 
the ague in his body; but in Warren the disease had taken so 
fatal a hold that it could not be exorcised; it passed into a 
phase of pulmonary decline, and after a few years of lingering 
sickness, which seemed to be sanctified to the production of 
thorough gentleness and piety, it carried him to his grave in his 
nineteenth year. None of the little family now remained save 



TRUTHFULNESS. .17 

Thomas, sheltered under the stalwart but kindly arms of his 
uncle, and the girl Laui-a, who received her nurture from her 
mother's relatives in Wood County. Although they hence- 
forth never occupied the same home, and could not meet very 
often, he always cherished for this sister the warmest aflfectiou. 
The first pocket-money he ever earned for himself, he expended 
wholly in buying her a dress of silk. It has been stated that 
Thomas always received from Cummins Jackson the liberal 
treatment of a son. Thenceforward his opportunities for edu- 
cation were just such as they would have been, had he been the 
heir of such a citizen. Classical academies were unknown in 
the country,- and the sons of the most respectable persons, 
with the exception of a few who were sent Eastward for an 
education, were content with the plain studies of a country 
school. But the .practical success and usefulness of many of 
the sons of the soil, besides General Jackson, have given proof 
that book-learning is by no means the only instrument of an 
efficient education. He seems to have been at all times eager 
for self-improvement. A worthy man, Mr. Robert P. Raj', 
then taught an English school at Cummins Jackson's mills, 
where Thomas, in company with the sons of the surround- 
ing landholders, received the usual plain education of the 
country. Out of that school came several others who have 
not only been respectable citizens of their district, but have 
risen to influence as legislators or professional men. Thomas 
showed no quickness of aptitude for any of his studies, 
except arithmetic; in this he always outstripped his school- 
mates, seemingly without effort. In all other branches his 
acquisitions were only made by patient labor. If he pro- 
fessed to be prepared for a recitation, all might be certain 
that he was thoroughly prepared; from the first, the intense 
honesty of his nature, and the sober judgment with which 

3 



IS LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

he preferred the substance to the name of an acquisition, 
"were singular. Nothing could induce him to leave a lesson 
behind liini uuiuastered. If he had not been able to finish 
a previous one at the same time with his class-mates, he 
would continue to study it while they proceeded to the next, 
and when called on for his share of the succeeding recitation, 
he would flatly declare that ho knew nothing about it, that 
he had not yet had time to begin it, and that all his time had 
been occupied upon the other. Thus he was, not seldom, nom- 
inally behind his class; but whatever he once gained was his 
forever; and his knowledge, though limited, was perfect as far 
as it went. His temperament at this time was cheerful, amiable, 
and generous ; and his demeanor instinctively courteous. His 
truthfulness was at all tmies proverbial. To an intimate friend 
he once said, that so far as he remembered he had never violated 
the exact truth in his life, save once. This instance was one 
which many would justify, and most would palliate; but he 
himself condemned it. While lieutenant of artillery in the 
Mexican War, his company were ordered to proceed by a nar- 
row path through a dense thicket of " chapparal," which was 
believed to be infested with guerillas. Jackson himself saw 
tlie leaves of the shrubs riddled with fresh bullet-holes ; and 
the men were so intimidated by the dread of the unseen foe, 
that wlicn the head of the column approached the dangerous 
spot it recoiled, and in spite of the expostulations of the officers, 
refused to advance. At length the young lieutenant went alone, 
far before his men, and waving his sword shouted to them : 
You see there is no danger ; forward ! " Yet, as he confessed, 
he knew at the moment that he was in extreme peril. At 
school he was also noted for a strong sense of justice, which 
made hi mas respectful towards the rights of others as tenacious 
of hirf (nvn. As long as he was fairly treated by his playmates, 



BODILY APPEARANCE AND HEALTH. 19 

his temper was perfectly gentle and complying; but if he 
believed himself wronged, his resistance was inexorable. In 
his occasional combats with his fellows, while superior strength 
might sometimes overpower him, it could never force him to 
acknowledge defeat. The victor might cuff him until he desisted 
from sheer weariness, but Thomas was still unsubdued, and 
ready to renew the fight whenever his antagonist dared to assail 
him. He was withal never moping nor surly, but always ready 
for the merry romp or play. He was not peculiarly swift of 
foot, but he usually led his playmates in jumping and climbing. 
When the school was divided into two companies for a game of 
bat and ball, or prisoners'-base, he was always captain of one, 
and his side was sure to win. 

In all Western Virginia, the owners of land and their sons 
were accustomed to labor on their farms with their own hands, 
more than any population of equal wealth and comfort in 
America. This was ihe consequence partly, of the industrious 
habits which the Presbyterian Scotch and Irish, the ruling caste 
in those regions, brought from their native lands ; partly of the 
comparative scarcity of labor, both slave and hired; and partly, 
of the absence of the abundant means of literary and profes- 
sional cultivation, which an older society offers to the wealthy. 
Even in the households of slaveholders, like Cummins Jackson, 
who in that country were few, the males, when not at school, 
were regularly occupied in rural labors, except in that large 
allowance of time reserved for country sports. The reader 
will thus understand that Thomas, although in no sense re- 
duced by his orphanage to a condition beneath that of the 
youths around him, was occupied, like his uncle, in the works 
of the farm and mills. Here he was always resolute aud 
efficient. One of his most frequent tasks seems to have been, 
to transport from the woods the huge stems of the poplars and 



20 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

oaks, to be converted b}' the saw-mill into lumber. He became 
thus a famous driver of oxen. If any tree was to be moved 
from ground of unusual difficulty, or if it was more gigantic 
than the rest, the party of laborers was put under his com- 
mand, and the work was sure to be effected. In this manner 
his life was passed from nine to sixteen years of age, between 
the labors of the school and of the farm. He was then, like 
his father, of short stature, but compact and muscular. He was 
capable of fatigue, and of indomitable physical endurance. 
His bearing was unpretending, but manly and courteous. But 
his constitution, even then, gave signs of infirmity. An obscure 
disease of the stomach and other organs of nutrition had seized 
upon him, harassing him with chronic irritations or prostrations 
of the nerves, sleepless nights, and lassitude. A year or two 
later, notwithstanding the means used to re-establish his consti- 
tution, these symptoms assumed the more ominous form of^ 
slight paralysis. The latter, however, wore away after a time ; 
and, about his second year at West Point his system seemed to 
escape a part of its burdens ; he grew rapidly to a tall stature, 
and thus, instead of remaining short, like his father, he was 
conformed to the usual standard of his race. But the other 
affection clave to him, like a Nemesis, during his whole youth 
and the war with Mexico, and never relaxed its hold until after 
he came to Lexington as Professor in the Military Institute, 
when he subdued it by means of the waters of the alum springs 
of Rockbridge, in connection with his admirable temperance. 
His habits of uncomplaining endurance, and his modest reluc- 
tance to every display savoring of egotism, concealed the 
larger part of these sufferings. It should be remembered,, in 
order that we may appreciate his capacity and energy, that his 
arduous studies at the military academy, and his brilliant 



FIDELITY IN THE OFFICE OP CONSTABLE. 21 

services in Mexico, were performed by him wliile hag-ridden 
from time to time by this wretched tormentor. 

The post of Constable in the northern half of Lewis County 
became about this time vacant. His friends procured the 
appointment for him, for two reasons : one was, that the life on 
horseback, it was hoped, might remove his disease and give him 
a firm constitution; the other was, that the little salary of the 
place might enable him to realize his ardent desire for a liljeral 
education. So general was the favor borne him, and the desire 
to forward his aspirations for a.dvancement, that the Court 
winked at the irregularity of appointing a minor to tTiis office, 
accepting the suretyship of his uncle as a sufficient guarantee. 
"We now see the manly youth, with his account-book and bag of 
bills and executions, traversing on horseback the hills of Lewis, 
a county then so large that the major parts of five counties have 
since been carved out of it. To readers who are not Virginians. 
a word of explanation may be needed concerning the office of 
Constable in our State. The Justices of the Peace, besides the 
County Courts which they hold jointly, arc authorized to decide 
singly, in their own neighborhood, upon controversies for pro- 
perty or money, where the sum in dispute does not exceed 
twenty dollars. Of this little court, the Constable is the execu- 
tive officer, serving its warrants, summoning its witnesses, and 
carrying into effect its decisions. The Justice, as conservator 
of the peace, may also issue his warrant for the arrest and ex- 
amination of any person suspected of crime, however grave; 
and in this preliminary stage of proceedings, the Constable is 
his agent. This officer is also charged witli the regulating of 
certain misdemeanors, and with the enforcement on slaves and 
free negroes of the police regulations' peculiar to their con- 
dition. He is, in a word, a sort of minor sheriff. 

The countrymen of young Jackson testified that he filled this 



22 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENICRAL JACKSON. 

office 'with indiistry and fidelity. In every tiling he was scrupu- 
lously exact; his engagements were uniformly kept; and the 
little claims intrusted to him for collection were always safe. 
While never cruel in the exercise of the powers of his place, 
he strictly enforced upon others a punctual compliance with 
their promises. In these duties his nerve was sometimes tried ; 
but he always carried his point. One instance may be related, 
as illustrating his courage and resource. About two miles from 
the little village of Weston, the county seat of Lewis, there 
lived a man, who, under a garb of great religiousness, con- 
cealed an" unscrupulous character. Jackson held an execution 
against his property for a little claim of ten dollars, which the 
creditor had more than once urged him to collect. Afcer 
indulging the debtor for a time, and advising him rather to earn 
or borrow the sum than suffer the sale of some article of his 
j)roperty, he exacted from him a firm promise that, on a certain 
day, he would meet him in Weston, and, without further trouble, 
pay him the debt. He then told the creditor that, on the even- 
ing of that day, his money would be ready for him. At the 
appointed day, Jackson was in Weston, but no debtor appeared ; 
and when the creditor came to receive his claim, he redeemed 
his punctuality by paying it out of his own purse. Pie then 
quietly remained in the village until the next morning, when, as 
he expected, the delinquent appeared in the street with a very 
good horse. It seems that there was, in their rude community, 
a sort of lex non scripta, established by usage, and more sacredly 
observed, perhaps, than many of the statutes of the Common- 
wealth, forbidding that any person should be taken by force, on 
any plea, from the back of his horse, and justifying the most 
extreme resistance to such a disgrace. Selecting a time, there- 
fore, when his debtor was dismounted, Jackson went up and 
taxed him Avith his breach of promise, reminded him of his long 



MORAL STATE OF THE COUNTRY. 23 

endurance of these deceptions, and was proceeding to seize the 
horse to satisfy his execution. Tlie other party, who had no 
idea of ever paying his debts, resisted, and a furious fight began 
ill the street. During the engagement, he availed himself of a 
momentary advantage, and remounted his horse. Here, now, 
was a dilemma for the young representative of the law. On 
the one hand, his adversary seemed safely enthroned in that 
position which the sacred custom of the vicinage pronounced 
unassailable. But, on the other hand, it was not in his nature 
to accept defeat where his conscience told him he was in the 
right. Clinging to the horse's bridle, he looked around, and 
perpeived -at some distance the low-browed door of a friend's 
stable standing open. To this he forced the horse, amidst a 
shower of unregarded cuffs from his enemy, who found himself, 
by these ludicrous tactics, placed between the alternatives of 
being struck off by the lintel of the door, or else sliding from 
the saddle and relinquishing the horse. He prudently adopted 
the latter, and Jackson secured the prize triumphantly in the 
stable, while yet he respected, at least in the letter, the common 
law of the neighborhood. 

But these occupations proved more favorable to the health of 
his body than of his character. They necessarily separated 
him much from home influences, and brought him acquainted 
with the worst people of his vicinage. Nor could his home 
influences be considered very auspicious. His aunts, before 
this period, had married, and the establishment of his uncle 
was that of a bachelor. Cummins Jackson, though temperate 
and energetic, was himself utterly devoid of Christianity, of a 
violent and unscrupulous character, and much given to assume, 
in its ruder phase, the character of a sporting gentleman. He 
kept race-horses, made up country race-matches, and employed 
his nephew as his favorite rider, whenever he expected a close 



24 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

contest. It was the gossip of all the country-side, that if a 
horse had any winning qualities in him, they "would inevitably 
come out when young Tom Jackson rode him in the race. 
Moreover, the general morals of the community were loose, and 
irregularities too often found most countenance from those of 
highest station. The Clnustianity of the region was not influ- 
ential; ministers were few, and dcQcient in intelligence and 
weight, being chiefly the most uncultivated members of the Bap- 
tist communion, or of the itinerant fraternity of the Methodists. 
If the citizens saw anything of Episcopacy or Presbyterianism, 
it was only from the transient visits and sermons of ministers 
from a distance. The state of religious opinion was just what 
the observing man would expect from such influences. The 
profession of Christianity was chiefly confined to the more igno- 
rant classes ; and among them Church discipline and Christian 
morals were relaxed. Men of the ruling houses, like the Jack- 
sons, were too often found to be corrupted by the power and 
wealth, with which the teeming fertility of their new country 
was rewarding their talents. Minds such as theirs, self-educated 
by the activity and competition of their bustling times, were too 
vigorous to acknowledge the intellectual sway of a class of 
ministers wlio dispensed, for sermons, their crude notions of 
experimental piety, in barbarous English. There were few 
cultivated minds to represent the authority of the gospel. Con- 
sequently, most of the men of position were openly neglectful 
of Christianity, and some were infidels. 

No one will wonder, then, that as young Jackson approached 
manhood, his conduct became somewhat irregular. He was, as 
he himself declared, an ardent frequenter of races, of " house- 
raisings," and of country-dances. But still his industry re- 
mained; his truthfulness and honesty continued untarnished; 
and the substantial foundations of integrity were never under- 



ASPIRATIONS. 25 

mined in his nature. His irregularities "were never more than 
temporary foibles, and they yielded to the wholesome influences 
of the first two years' discipline at the military academy, and 
to the encouragement of better prospects and gratified aspira- 
tions. During the first year's course, the "demerits" incurred 
show some remains of his wilder habits; but even then his 
comrades found in him nothing low or vile. And thencefor- 
ward he appeared at home, during vacations, perfectly exem- 
plary in his demeanor, and at the school, regular, laborious, 
truthful, scorning everything base ; modest, yet self-reliant ; and 
although inexperienced in some of the forms of societ}-, ever 
full of ink'insic dignity and courtesy. 

It is manifest that his nature was intensely ambitious and 
aspiring. He thirsted eagerly for knowledge, and for well- 
eai'ned distinction. He knew himself to be a depressed scion 
of a noble and influential stock ; and while he felt no morbid 
shame at his poverty, he longed to reinstate himself in the fore- 
most ranks of the kindred, from which orphanage and destitu- 
tion had thrust him down. This was the ruling desire, the 
purpose of his early manhood, and it gives us the key to many 
of the singularities of his character ; to his hunger for self- 
improvement ; to his punctilious observance, from a boy, of the 
essentials of a gentlemanly bearing, even where he was ignorant 
of its conventionalities; to the uniform assertion of his self- 
respect. The wonder is, that the circumstances which sur- 
rounded him did not make him, simply, another Cummins 
Jackson. The generous kindness of this uncle, the force of his 
example, the similarity of the two in the strength and ardor 
6.f their natures, and the impress of a will so energetic and 
commanding, would seem naturally to tend to that result. But 
the nephew appears to have imbibed all the good traits of the 
undo, and to have escaped the bad. How shall the formation 



26 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

of such a character, ia such a state of society, be explained ? 
Was it not due to that noble constitution- of his nature, that 
reverence for the true and the right, that manly courage which 
the Creator impressed upon it, for his own ulterior ends, 
coupled with the purifying force of a Christian mother's teach- 
ings and prayers ? 

Of this uncle General Jackson always spoke with grateful 
affection; as he was evidently his favorite nephew. Cummins 
Jackson displayed his restless love of adventure by going, 
when he was forty-nine years old, to seek gold in California. 
lie was also impelled in part by disgust at the persecutions of 
some of his neighbors, with whom his feuds had become per- 
fectly inveterate. His ample farm and competency could not 
detain him; he crossed the plains with a well-equipped company 
of gold-hunters, of -whom he was recognized as the chief, in 
1849, and died the autumn of that year in the wilds of the 
mining region. Had he made a will, it is believed that General 
Jackson would have been a chief heir; but death disappointed 
such generous purposes if he had them; and his estate is 
destined to be divided among almost a hundred nephews and 
nieces. 

It will be best here to anticipate so much as will be 
necessary, to complete the history of young Jackson's offi- 
cial life in Lewis. The law requires the county court to 
take bond and security of every constable to the amount 
of not less than two thousand dollars, for the faithful trans- 
action of all the business committed to him. "When a cred- 
itor places any claim in the hands of such an officer for 
collection, he usually exacts a receipt from him acknowledging 
the trust undertaken, and the amount and nature of the demand. 
The officer thus incurs a responsibility from which he must 
absolve himself, cither by collecting and paying over to him the 



THOMAS RESIGNS HIS OFFICE. 27 

amount of the claim, or by making every lawful effort to do so, 
and showing that it was impracticable, by reason either of the 
insolvency or evasion of the creditor. When the hope of an 
immediate appointment, as cadet of the IMilitary Academy, was 
suggested, young Jackson's abiding desire for a liberal education 
forbade his hesitating for any smaller concerns. He instantly 
resigned his place* It chanced that this was a season of strin- 
gency in the currency of the region, and his uncle found himself 
unable at tlie time to raise ready money for his outfit. By his 
advice, Thomas sold such claims . for cash as could be thus 
disposed of, and transferred the remainder of his papers and 
business to him for adjustment. It would appear that even 
these prompt means failed to realize enough for his expenses. 
One can readily conceive that a boy of eighteen, with all his 
punctuality, would not be a thoroughly methodical accountant. 
So, when the settlements with suitors were made, in the absence 
of that personal recollection on which he largely relied, the 
more greedy succeeded in making him their seeming debtor for 
more than he had left in his uncle's hands. The consequence 
was, that a few suits were brought against the latter, as his 
security, for the payment of sums thus claimed. He, indeed, 
probably regarded this as rather good luck than ill, as it gave 
him additional occasion to exercise his restless mind in his 
beloved work of litigation; and his generosity to Thomas made 
liim cheerfully pay the deficit. On the return of Thomas from 
West Point, he looked thoroughly into these transactions, and 
demanded a more accurate settlement of his accounts. To one 
claimant, for wliom he had collected a variety of small sums at 
different times, thus making a somewhat intricate series of 
transactions, he said that this party ought to be able to remem- 
ber the receipt of various payments on account, for which the 
written evidence was now lost ; and that when the recollection 



28 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

was distinct and undeniable, he should insist on having credit. 
He required his antagonist to go over the whole account on 
this plan. When he sought to avoid allowing payments, whicli 
Jackson well knew had been made, by saying " he had no recol- 
lection of them, " the latter would reply, " Yea, but you must 
recollect them;" and, by his firm countenance and reference to 
attendant circumstances, would constrain his unwilling party to 
make the just admissions. In this way lie forced him to allow 
in Court sundry abatements of his claim. Finally, all the sums 
for which, as constable, he was bound to any one, were fully 
paid either by him. or his uncle. 



THE CADET. 29 



CHAPTER II. 

THE, CADET. 

In 1841, the Hon. Samuel Hays was elected delegate, from 
the district to which Lewis County belonged, to the Congress 
of the ' United States. During his term, the place of cadet 
in the military academy at West Point became vacant. This 
famous school was founded and sustained by the Federal Gov- 
ernment, and contained as many pupils as there were Con- 
gressional districts. These were treated as soldiers in garrison 
from the time they entered, and not only instructed artd drilled, 
but fed, clothed, and paid by the public. The appointments 
were made by the Secretary of War, upon the nomination 
of the member of Congress, representing the district frooi 
which the application came. It may be easily comprehended 
that his recommendation was usually potential. As the scien- 
tific education given was thorough, and nearly the whole 
expense was borne by the Government, the place was much 
sought by the sons of the most prominent citizens. Mr. Hays, 
upon consultation with judicious friends, had given the nomina- 
tion to a fatherless youth, of sprightly mind and good habits, 
whom his neighbors desired to help upward in the world. He 
had been appointed, had gone to West Point, and upon observ- 
ing the condition of the cadets from without, had concluded 
that the restraints and military discipline of the place would be 
too irksome for his tastes. He therefore left the villao;e with- 



30 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

out reporting to the authorities of the school, and returned 
home to resign his appointment. This occurred in the summer 
of 1S42. The self-indulgence of this youth, and the contrasted 
energy and hardiliood of Jackson, bore fruits which may ttcII 
be pondered by every young man. The former was consigned, 
by the rejection of the providential occasion for self-improve- 
ment, to a decent mediocrity, from which his name has never 
been sounded by the voice of fame. The latter, by liis manly 
decision, made of the same opportunity " a tide, which, taken 
at the flood, led on to fortune." There was then living in the 
village of Weston a German smith, one of those neighborly, 
ingenious, gossiping men, who are as busy in discussing 
llicir neighbors' affairs as in repairing their implements of 
labor. Just at the time when the young man who lias 
been mentioned returned to the country, relinquishing his 
West Point nomination, it so chanced that Cummins Jackson 
had occasion to go to this smith, for the repair of some of the 
machinery of his mill. The good man said to him, informing 
him of the indiscretion of his young neighbor, "Here now 
is a chance for Tom Jackson, as he is so , anxious for an 
education." The uncle replied that, on his return home that 
evening, he would mention it to Thomas, and recommend him 
to seek the appointment. When he did so, the young man 
caught eagerly at it; and the result was that the next morning 
he went to Weston, and applied to his influential friends for 
their support in an application to the Honorable Mr. Hays, then 
in Washington. All had known his industry, his integrity, and 
his iionorable aspirations. All sympathized warmly with liira 
in the latter. Nearly every prominent person connected with 
the courts of the place concurred in his testimonial. To one 
gentleman, a lawyer of influence, and a connection of his famil}^, 
he resorted for a more confidential letter. This person asked 



JACKSON APPLIES FOR CADETSHIP. 31 

him if lie did not fear that his present education was too scanty 
to enable him to enter the military academy, or to sustain him- 
self there. His countenance sank with mortification for a 
moment, then raising his head, he said, with a look of deter- 
mination, " I know that I shall have the application necessary 
to succeed ; I hope that I have the capacity ; at least I am deter- 
mined to try, and I wish you to help me to do this." The letter 
was written, with a hearty commendation of his claims to Mr. 
Hays, and a full description of his courageous spirit. These 
letters were despatched to Washington ; and, meantime, Thomas 
applied himself diligently to reviewing his studies for entrance 
into the academy, under the gratuitous teaching of a lawyer of 
Weston, Mr. (afterwards Judge) Edmiston. In due time a reply 
came from Mr. Hays, promising to use his injQuence in his favor. 
Some one then suggested, that as the session at West Point had 
commenced, and as it was always safest to give personal atten- 
tion to one's own interests, it might be best for him to go 
immediately to Washington, instead of waiting for the result of 
the application, and be ready to proceed at once, if successful, 
to his destination. Thomas declared his preference for this 
course, and departed without a day's delay. Borrowing a pair 
of saddle-horses and a servant from a friend, he hastened to 
Clarksburg, to meet the stage-coach which plied thence to Win- 
chester and Washington. His garments were homespun, and 
his whole wardrobe was contained in a pair of leathern saddle- 
bags. When he reached Clarksburg the stage had passed by, 
but he pursued it, and at its next stopping-place overtook it, 
and proceeded to Washington city. Presenting himself thus 
before the Honorable Mr. Haj'S, he was kindly received; and 
his patron proposed that he should go at once, Avith the Stains 
of his travel upon him, to the office of the War Minister to 
procure his appointment. He presented him to that minister 



ij'Z LIFE OP LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSON. 

as a mountain youth, who, witli a limited education, had an 
honorable desire of improvement. The Secretary was so much 
pleased with the directness and manliness of his replies, that 
he ordered his warrant to be made out on the spot. When 
Mr. llays proposed to take him to his lodgings, for a few days, 
ihat he might see the sights of the metropolis, he declined, 
saying that as the studies of the academy were in progress, it 
was best for him to be in his place there, and that he sliould 
be content with a general view from the top of the dome of 
the Capitol. Uaving looked upon this panorama for a while 
he descended, and declared himself ready for West Point. 
Mr. Hays wrote to the authorities there, asking them, at 
the suggestion of some friend, to make the utmost allow- 
ance practicable in the preliminary examination for his de- 
fective scholarship, and in favor of his good character. And 
Jackson stated to his friends that this indulgence was very 
kindly extended to him, and that without it, lie would scarcely 
have been able to stand the test. He entered West Point, 
July, 1842, being then eighteen years old. He had not attained 
his full stature, but was muscular in his frame, and of a fresli, 
ruddy countenance. His demeanor was somewhat constrained, 
but, by reason of its native dignity, always pleasing. The 
fourth-class men at this school were called by their comrades 
2^lehes, were subjected in many respects to restraints peculiar to 
their rank, were made to perform the menial duties of sweeping 
the barrack-grounds, and such-like, under the inspection of their 
more advanced fellow-students, and were severely drilled in 
their military exercises. It was thus the authorities proposed 
to form a soldierly subordination and hardihood. The infliction 
of practical jokes upon new-comers has always been carried to 
extremity in this school. The professors themselves seemed to 
connive, at it as a useful discipline of the temper; and, by a 



ENTERS WEST POINT. 33 

fixed usage of the cadets, be who grew restive under the tor- 
ment only subjected himself to tenfold sufferings. Resistance 
was vain. The third-class man, lately among the idebes, sought 
his revenge from the body of new-comers below him, and. from 
victim became tormentor, with all the zest and ingenuity of a 
practitioner just graduated in the art of teasing. When they 
saw the country youth arrive, with his saddle-bags, in his home- 
spun garments, they promised themselves rich sport with him ; 
but they speedily learned their mistake. Such was his courage, 
his good temper, and the shrewdness and savoir-faire, acquired 
during his diversified life in the country, that they were quickly 
glad to leave him for more easy subjects. 

It would be obviously unfair to judge his capacity by his 
earlier acquisitions at West Point. His literary preparation 
was defective. Although his rural occupations had given a 
valuable cultivation of his powers, he lacked the facility of 
taking in knowledge, which arises from practice ; nor was his 
apprehension naturally quick. He once stated to a friend that 
he " studied very hard for what he got at West Point." The 
acquisition of knowledge with him was slow, but what he once 
comprehended he never lost. Entering, with such preparation, 
a large and distinguished class, he held at first a low grade. 
Generals M'Clellan, Foster, Reno, Stoneman, Couch, and 
Gibbon, of the Federal army ; and Generals A. P. Hill, Pickett 
Maury, D. P. Jones, W. D. Smith, and Wilcox, of the Confede- 
rate army, were among his class-mates. From the first, he 
labored hard. The same thoroughness and honesty which had 
appeared in the schoolboy, were now more clearly manifested. 
If he could not master the portion of the text-book assigned for 
the day, he would not pass over it to the next lesson, but con- 
tinued to work upon it until it was understood. Thus It hap- 
pened that, not seldom, when . called to the black-board, he 

5 



34 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

would reply that he had not yet reached the lesson of the day, 
but was employed upon the previous one. There was then no 
alternative but to mark him as unprepared. A distinguished 
student of the class next above him, now Major-General Whit- 
ing, rendered him valuable private aid, while all applauded his 
sturdy effort. But at the examinations which closed his first 
half-year's novitiate, the line which separated the incompetents, 
and condemned them to an immediate discharge, was drawn a 
very little below him. Nowise disheartened by this, but thank- 
ful that he had saved his distance, he redoubled his exertions. 
At the end of his first year, in a class of seventy-two, he stood 
45th in mathematics, 70th in French, had 15 demerit marks for 
misconduct, and was fifty-first in general merit. In the next 
class, the studies were more extended and abstruse ; but the 
examination at the end of his second year showed him 18th in 
mathematics, 52d in French, G8th in drawing, and 55th in 
engineering studies ; while he had incurred 26 demerits, and 
ranked 30th in general merit. 

In the second class, he proceeded from pure mathematics to 
chemistry and natural philosophy. His course was still more 
decidedly improved, and placed him at the end of the year in 
natural philosophy, 11th; in chemistry, 25th; in drawing, 59th ; 
with no demerit for the year, and in general merit, 20th. In 
the studies of the final year, he was 12th in engineering, 5th in 
ethics, 11th in artillery, 21st in infantry-tactics, and 11th in 
mineralogy and geology. His demerit marks were seven, but, 
as he assured his friends, he might have wholly escaped these 
by laying the delinquencies charged to him upon comrades to 
whom they rightly belonged. He preferred to bear the unde- 
served blame, rather than break silence against them. Ilis 
general standing as a graduate was 17tli, notwithstanding the 
less successful years at the beginning, which were taken into 



PROGRESS IN STUDY. 35 

the account. An examination of these records will show a 
steady progress; and, if the deficient preparation of his begin- 
ning be considered, there is evidence of a scholastic ability and 
acquirement very little below the highest. But scholastic 
ability is not the real test of a great mind. It also appears 
that he was usually least successful in a study when it was 
novel. In the science of military engineering, for instance, his 
first year's study placed him only 55tli, but his last year 12th. 
He seems never to have become an adept in drawing; indeed 
nature had not gifted him with much of that manual dexterity, 
which is here more essential than even taste and correctness of 
eye. His greatest success was in ethics, where his grade was 
5th — a correct prognostic of that transcendent ability in states- 
manship and moral reasoning, which every great commander 
must possess. -His teachers and comrades judged his mind 
sound and strong, but not quick. It was a frequent remark 
among the latter, that if the course were two years longer than 
it was, Jackson would assuredly graduate at the head of his 
class. 

His manners, when he appeared at West Point, have 
been already described. When he returned upon furlough 
to his friends, they noted a great and progressive change 
in his person. The second year he grew, as it were by 
a leap, to the height of six feet. His bearing, though still 
deficient in ease, was punctiliously courteous and dignified. 
He was scrupulously neat in all his appointments, and, in 
his handsome cadet uniform, made a most soldierly appear- 
ance. At the military academy he was not morose, but re- 
served almost to shyness; fond of animated conversation 
and of the collision of intellect, when alone with one or two 
of his few intimates, but in a larger circle, a silent interested 
listener. The society there was usually stratified very distinctly, 



36 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

according to the classes. The fourth-class men, under the hum- 
ble title of Icicles, were the fags of all above them. At eacli 
stage of his advancement the cadet gained new privileges, 
which made him look down, like a superior mortal, on the 
younger. Hence the intimacies of the students were confined 
to their own classes, save where some more aspiring youth, by 
reason of distinguished scholarship or social advantages, sought 
the society of those above him. But Jackson, in selecting his 
few friends, disregarded all these bonds of caste, and most 
frequently chose them from the classes below him. His favorite 
recreation was walking ; and almost every afternoon he might 
be seen, with a single companion, striding rapidly over the 
picturesque hills, or sitting upon one of the headlands which 
overhang the waters of the Hudson. In these confidential 
walks, his favorite topics were the graver subjects of moral 
reasoning, mental science, ethics, politics. He had enjoyed no 
collegiate training in these studies, the instruction in them at 
the military academy was limited, and his favorite associate in 
these discussions was a graduate of one of the Colleges which 
made this branch of science prominent. Yet, although his 
knowledge of the speculations of metaphysicians was limited, 
his friend found his notions always original, and usually correct, 
and his reasonings so ingenious and forcible, that he was never 
an easy antagonist to overcome. One of the most pleasing and 
noteworthy traits of his nature was his tenderness to the dis- 
tressed. A case of sickness or bereavement, among the younger 
cadets especially, awakened all his sympathies; and he would 
devote himself to their help with a zeal so womanly, as to evoke 
the gibes of coarser natures. Perhaps, his profound impressions 
of the infirmity of his own frame quickened these sensibilities. 
He seemed to be under a habitual fear of some chronic and 
fatal disease, and began even then that rigid observance of such 



MORAL RULES OF CONDUCT. 37 

laws of health as he apprehended to be suitable to him. One 
of these rules "was, never to bend his body in studying, lest the 
compression of some of the important organs within should 
increase their tendency to disease. Hence he sat always 
bolt upright; his chair might as well have been without a 
back. 

It does not appear that Jackson was under the influence of 
vital Christianity at West Point. Speculatively, he was a 
believer; outwardly, he was observant of the decencies of. 
religion, and his morals were pure ; but the sacred impression 
of his mother's piety and teachings was as yet dormant. The 
most authentic disclosure of his moral nature at that time is a 
code of behavior which he compiled for himself, and carefully 
engrossed in a blank book (in a large, correct, formal hand- 
writing, that surprisingly contrasts with the indistinct, cursive 
style of later years) under the title of " Maxims." These seem 
to have been in part selected from books of that character, and 
in part adopted from his own experience. They relate to 
morals, manners, dress, the choice of friends, and the aims of 
life. The standard of principle is simply that of a high secular 
virtue, with such reference to religious responsibilities as every 
thoughtful and reverent nature prompts. But tliey show already 
that devotion to the sentiment of duty which his after-life mani- 
fested so grandly ; and they reveal the loftiest aims. It is plain 
that he habitually nourished the honorable ambition to make 
liimself the very greatest of which his nature was capable; and 
that the limits which he assigned to this possibility were far 
removed. Beneath his modest reserve and silence, so contrasted 
with all tlie tricks of egotism, there burned the steady but 
intense purpose, to place his character and his name high upon 
the scale of true merit. Perhaps the most characteristic of 



38 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

these maxims is the following, written in a conspicuous place:— 

" YOU MAY BE WHATEVER YOU RESOLVE TO BE." 

We shall see that this was, to him, a most practical dogma. 

His- temper was recognized at "West Point to be inflexible, 
without being petulant or aggressive. The only personal diffi- 
culty which he ever had with a fellow-student illustrates this 
trait; and the coutrast<3d destiny of the two antagonists may 
well impress on every young man, the dreadfulness of base and 
relaxed principles, and the value of integrity. The cadet who 
was Jackson's sole enemy, resembled him in capacity and the 
conditions of his career. He was an orplian, from the far 
West, of rural training, of sound mind, and energetic and forci- 
ble character, capable of strenuous exertion, poor, and eager to 
advance himself. His early education had been neglected. 
Like Jackson he incurred the sportive malice of the students 
on his arrival at the Academy, by his appearance of rusticity 
and inexperience, and he defended himself with so much cour- 
age and good sense, and made such progress in his studies that 
all were at first inclined in his favor. Tliere appeared no 
reason why he and Jackson might not run parallel courses of 
honor and usefulness. But, in his second year, he disclosed a 
laxity of principle, told less than the truth in order to evade 
" demerits," and contracted degrading associations in the neigh- 
boring village. Jackson was one of the first to perceive his 
lack of principle. One day his musket, which was always 
scrupulously clean, was replaced by one in most slovenly order. 
He called the attention of his captain (himself a senior cadet) 
to this loss, and described to him his private mark by which he 
identified his gun. That evening at the inspection of arms, it 
was found in the hands of the student who has been described, 
and when taxed with purloining it, the latter endeavored to 



GRADUATION. 39 

shield himself by falsehood. Jackson had been indignant that 
he should commit such an act from mere indolence, but now his 
anger was unbounded. He declared that such a nuisance 
should not" continue a member of the Academy, and demanded 
that he should be tried by a court-martial, upon his information, 
and expelled. It was only by means of the most persevering 
remonstrances of his comrades, and of the professors, that he 
could be induced to waive his right of pursuing the charge. 
The event proved that his estimate was more correct than that 
of his seniors. It was not long before his opponent was under 
arrest, for disgraceful conduct, violated his parole, and was 
expelled on that account, a short time before he would have 
graduated. He resorted to the new State of Texas, and 
professed for a time to engage in the study of law. Not 
prospering in this, he embarked for California, endeavored to 
Hwindle the master of the ship out of his fare, and was sum- 
marily thrust ashore at Mazatlan, on the western coast of 
Mexico, without money or friends. There he wandered into 
the mountains, and attached himself to a roving tribe of the 
Tuscon Indians, among whom his skill in savage warfare, rob- 
bery, and murder, raised him to a sort of chieftainship, and the 
possession of half-a-dozen tawny wives. The last intelligence 
which reached the civilized world concerning him was, that he 
and his subjects had quarrelled concerning the murder of a 
poor pedlar, whom he had slain for his wares ; and his miser- 
able band, less savage than himself, had expelled him from their 
society. Jackson, meantime, has filled two hemispheres with 
his fame for every quality which is great and good. 

The latter graduated at West Point, June 30th, 1846, being 
then twenty-two years old ; and, according to custom, received 
the brevet rank of second lieutenant of artillery. The Mexican 
War was then in progress, and General Winfield Scott was 



40 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

proceeding to take supremo command. The young lieutenant 
was ordered to report immediately for duty with the 1st Regi- 
ment of Artillery ; and proceeded through Pennsylvania, down 
the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans, which was 
ihe rendezvous of the forces designed to reinforce the army in 
Mexico. 



m MEXICO. 41 



CHAPTER III. 

IN MEXICO. 

The war of the United States against Mexico, beginning with 
the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma in Western 
Texas, had rolled its waves, under General Zachary Taylor, up 



the Rio Grande, and into the province of JN ew Leon. Monterey 
was occupied after a sanguinary victory, and the advanced 
forces had proceeded as far as Saltillo. But it was apparent, 
at the end of 1846, that successes on this line of operations 
would never bring peace, because it could only lead the arms 
of the United States aside from the heart of their enemy's 
strength. To reach the capital, a circuitous inland march 
would have been necessary; while the overpowering navy of 
the Union, if once Vera Cruz were occupied, would enable 
them to base upon the sea-coast a direct and short line of 
advance, by the great National Road,. General VVinfield Scott, 
who had been sent out as commander-in-chief of the whole 
forces, was therefore allowed to carry out his plan for organiz- 
ing a powerful land and naval force against Vera Cruz, early 
in the year 1847. Most of the regular regiments were with- 
drawn from the command of General Taylor, and concentrated, 
during the month of February, at the seaport of TanfiDico, 
about two hundred and thirty miles north of Vera Cruz, where 
General Scott was also assembling his reinforcements. Young- 
Jackson's company of heavy artillery formed a part of the 
6 



42 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

latter. Oil the 24tli of February, the commanding general 
commenced the assembling of his forces at Lobos Island, a con- 
venient intermediate point, offering a roadstead for his numerous 
ships unmolested by his enemies, a little north of Vera Cruz. 
On the 9th of March, 13,500 land forces were disembarked in 
one day from the fleet, upon the open beach near tlie city, with- 
out a single casualty. Young Jackson often referred to this as 
a spectacle more grand and animating than man is often jjer- 
mitted to witness. The brilliant array proceeded to the land 
under a cloudless sky, and in perfect order, in the innumerable 
boats of the squadron, with colors displayed, martial music, 
and the enthusiastic shouts of the soldiers, and by sunset the 
whole force was paraded on shore, in order of battle. The 
garrison of about four thousand partially organized troops were 
in no condition to obstruct their advance. On Marcli 13th, the 
city was formally invested, and on the 29th it capitulated, with 
all the garrison, after a heavy bombardment. In this service 
Jackson, who had on March 3d received the commission of 
second-lieutenant, bore his part, but no occasion for special 
distinction occurred. Meantime President Santa Anna, whose 
activity and genius deserved greater success than he was fated 
to achieve, assembled a force of about twenty thousand men in 
the province of San Luis . Potosi, between the three points of 
Saltillo, Vera Cruz, and the capital, proposing fi-om this central 
position to strike his assailants in succession. His first attack 
was upon General Taylor, who had been left at the first place 
of the three, with a little more than five thousand men, of whom 
nearly all were volunteers levied since the beginning of the 
war. • The result was the battle of Buena Vista, in which, on 
the 23d of February, that small force inflicted a bloody repulse 
upon the Mexicans. 

Santa Anna, having failed in this well-conceived attempt, 



JACKSON ENTERS MAGRUDER'S BATTERY. 43 

reorganized and recruited his forces, to resist the advance of 
the Americans (now masters of Yera Cruz) on the capital. 
General Scott having set out for the interior on April 12th, he 
prepared himself for battle on the strong position of Cerro 
Gordo, a few miles east of Jalapa, crowning a line of precipi- 
tous hills with barricades and field-works ranging along, and 
commanding the great highway. After a reconnoissancc effected 
by Captain Robert E. Lee of the Engineers (in which Lieut.- 
Col. Joseph E. Johnston of the caValry received a severe 
wound), General Scott determined to adopt a plan of assault 
suggested by tlie former ofiScer. This was to threaten the 
whole front of the enemy, but to direct the main attack against 
a hill at thp western extremity of his position ; because this 
post, if once seized by the Americans, commanded the only line 
of retreat for the discomfited Mexicans, as completely as, they 
supposed, their position commanded the great road. This vital 
attack was confided to the veteran division of Twiggs, power- 
fully supported by artillery, the whole being brought in front of 
the place to be assailed by an exceedingly rough and circuitous 
route, planned by Lee. The attack Avas made April 18th, and 
was completely successful. The Mexican army almost ceased 
to exist. It lost all its ordnance and several thousand prison- 
ers ; and the victory opened to Scott the town of Jalapa, the 
powerful fortress of Pcrote, and the city of La Puebla, within 
eighty-five miles of the capital. 

It was in this assault that Captain John Bankhead Magruder, 
commanding a light field-battery, won brilliant distinction. But 
in such operations heavy artillery could only play a secondary 
part. The place of second-lieutenant in Magruder's battery 
was then to be filled, and most young officers shrank from it, 
because the commander was considered as an exacting discipli- 
narian, and the service of that arm was full of hardship and 



44 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

• 

exposure to danger. But tlic latter reason was the very one 
which commended it to Jackson. He applied for, and quickly 
obtained, a transfer to it; and this change marks the beginning 
of his career of distinction. The old artillery, cumbersome in 
moving and slow in working, was usually posted at some per- 
manent point, and must needs remain there for the day. If the 
tide of battle flowed towards it, it might render important 
service j if away from it, it was condemned to inactivit}', and a 
partial disaster could compel its surrender. But the rapid 
manoeuvring of the light artillery in action was then a new 
feature in American warfare. Its brilliant results at Palo Alto, 
at Resaca do la Palma, at Buena Vista, had delighted General 
Taylor, and electrified the country. Jackson foresaw that this 
arm of warfare was henceforth destined to be used in every 
battle, and to be always thrust forward to the post of danger 
and of honor. To a soul thirsting, like his, for distinction, this 
was motive enough for preferring it. And he said that, deter- 
mined as he was to do his whole duty, and to consecrate himself 
wholly to his functions as a soldier, he had no fears of being- 
unable to satisfy the rigidity of its captain. In this lie was not 
disappointed; he speedily became one of his favorite officers. 

General Scott, after remaining at La Puebla to rearrange 
and recruit his force, moved upon the city of Mexico with about 
eleven thousand men, August 7, 1847. President Santa Anna, 
meantime, had collected another powerful army, with abundant 
munitions of war, and had created every practicable obstacle to 
the approach of the city by the direct road. When the invader 
reached the mountain ridge of El Peuon, which assists to 
enclose the great basin in the centre of which the city stands, 
he found it so well fortified, that it was manifest the attempt to 
force his way througli its defiles, would cost him a large part of 
his army, ticro the ingenuity of his engineers again came to 



COMBAT AT CONTRERAS. 45 

his aid. They showed him that by turniug to the left, a way 
might be opened, practicable for artillery, by virtue of toil and 
hardihood, across a country scored with rugged volcanic ravines, 
to the southwest side of the city. This rendered the laborious 
defences of the Mexicans useless. By August 19, this arduous 
march was effected, and the head-quarters of the army were 
advanced to the village of San Augustin, about eight miles to the 
southwest of the city. No serious opposition was encountered, 
because the Mexican generals had supposed that the impractica- 
ble ground would be a sufficient defence of their flank. 

But Santa Anna hastened to repair his omission, and again 
placed himself between the Americans and his capital, in a line 
of defences, which, if less elaborate than those in its front, was 
still formidable. Before San Augustin was the village of San 
Antonio, which he entrenched and occupied ; at a considerable 
distance to the west of it he crowned an insulated hill at Con- 
treras, with a strong detachment of infantry and artillery, and, 
in the rear of this post, he placed his heaviest force at the little 
village of Cherubusco, which he had also strengthened with 
lield-works. A force at least three times as large as the Amer- 
ican, with a hundred cannon, thus awaited their attack in 
position of their own selecting. But Santa Anna had com- 
mitted the fatal blunder of choosing the two points which were 
the keys of his whole front, San Antonio and Contreras, so far 
apart, that they could not efficiently support each other. After 
heavy skirmishing on the 19th of August, General Scott turned 
the hill of Contreras by a night march, and at dawn, on the 
20th, assailed it from the rear, either capturing or dispersing its 
five tiiousand defenders in a combat of a few minutes' duration, 
and seizing all their cannon. The Mexican force at San An 
tonio now found their communications violently threatened, and 
could only save themselves by a hasty retreat upon Cheru- 



"^^ LIFE OF LlEUT.-tJKNERAL JACKSON. 

busco, pressed by an active enemy. He advanced immediately 
to the attack of this last position ; and as may be easily imag- 
ined, found its defenders assembled there in so confused a 
manner, as to be ill prepared for a firm resistance. After 
a sanguinary conflict of several hours, the village and entrench- 
ments were carried, and the enemy retired nearer the city. To 
Magruder's battery was assigned an important post in front of 
the enemy's works, at the distance of nine hundred yards. Be- 
fore long, his first lieutenant, Mr. Johnstone, was killed, and 
Jackson thus became next in command to the captain, and took 
charge of a section, or half of the battery ; which he so handled, 
as to win from Magrudcr, the following commendation in his 
report: — "In a few moments, Lieutenant Jackson, commanding 
the second section of the battery, who had opened fire upon the 
enemy's works from a position on the right, hearing our fire 
still further in front, advanced in handsome style, and being 
assigned by me to the post so gallantly filled by Lieutenant 
Johnstone, kept up the fire with great briskness and efTect. 
His conduct was equally conspicuous during the whole day, and 
I cannot too highly commend him to the Major-General's favor- 
able consideration." 

In reward for his gallantry this day, he was honored with the 
brevet rank of captain of artillery; and his actual rank in the 
company was henceforth that of first lieutenant. On the 8th 
of September, a fierce combat was fought at a point still nearer 
the city, called Molino del Rey, in which the Americans were 
again victorious. In this allair, Jackson had no other part than 
to protect the flank of the force engaged, from the insults of 
the Mexican cavalry, which he accomplished by a few well- 
directed shots. 

One more obstacle remained between the victors and 
their prize j but this was the most formidable of all. The 



JACKSON AT CHAPULTEPEC. 47 

Castle of Chapultepec, at first perhaps a monastery, was built 
upon an insulated and lofty hill overlooking the plain which 
extended up to the gates of the city, and commanding both the 
causeways by which the Americans aimed to approach them. 
The level country ab.out the base of the mount was covered in 
part with corn, and in part with groves, and intersected with 
deep ditches, formed by the farmers for drainage and irrigation, 
impassable for artillery, and nearly so for infantry. As a previ- 
ous examination of these was made impossible by swarms of 
sharpshooters, they only disclosed themselves to the advancing 
columns, when they arrived upon their brinks, shrouded as they 
were by- the luxuriant grain, or by hedges of the thorny cactus. 
The castle was manned with a garrison, and around its base the 
remains of the Mexican army was posted in entrenchments, 
with batteries of cannon prepared to sweep every road which 
approached. The Americans, cut off at the time from their dis- 
tant ships, found that the urgent want of supplies, which the 
city alone could furnish them by its surrender, compelled them 
to seek the reduction of tliis fort by some more speedy means 
than a regular siege. It was determined to storm it by several 
detachments, directed against its different sides, on the morning 
of September 13th. Major-General Pillow, to whom Magru- 
der's battery was assigned, was directed to attack its west side, 
while Worth, the most skilful of Scott's lieutenants, was to 
march by a circuit beyond Pillow, and assail the north. Ma- 
gruder was ordered by his general to divide his battery, and 
send one section forward, under Jackson, towards the northwest 
angle, while he assailed another part. Two regiments of in- 
fantry, under Colonel Trousdale, accompanied the former 
section. The columns of attack advanced to the charge ; the 
artillery, at every practicable point, striving to aid their approach 
by pouring a storm of shot upon the Mexican -batteries. When 



^ijwvi^ 



48 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

the detachment, which Magrudcr supported with tlie section 
under his immediate command, had advanced so near tlie enemy 
that his fiTC was dangerous to his own friends, he proceeded to 
the front to join Jackson. The latter had been poshed forward 
l)\' Colonel Trousdale, under whose immediate orders the plan 
of the battle placed him, until he found himself unexpectedly 
in the presence of a strong battery of the enemy, at so short a 
range, that, in a few moments, the larger portion of his horses 
was killed, and his men cither struck down, or driven from 
their guns by a storm of grape-shot ; while about seventy of the 
infantry were holding a precarious tenure of their ground in his 
rear. Worth was just completing his detour, and bringing his 
veterans into connection with this party, when perceiving the 
desperate position of Jackson's guns, he sent him word to 
retire. lie replied that it was now more dangerous to with- 
draw his pieces than to hold his position; and that if they 
vv^ould send him fifty veterans, he would rather attempt the cap- 
ture of the battery which had so crippled his. Magruder then 
dashed forward, losing his horse by a fatal shot as he 
approached him, and found that he had lifted a single gun 
across a deep ditch by hand to a position where it could be 
served with effect; and this he was rapidly loading and firing, 
with the sole assistance of a sergeant; while the remainder of 
his men were either killed, wounded, or crouching in the ditch. 
Another piece was speedily brought over, and in a few moments, 
the enemy was driven from his battery by the rapid and uner- 
ring fire of Jackson and Magruder. 

By this time the storming parties had pierced the castle on 
two sides, and the Mexicans were in full retreat upon the city. 
Orders had been given to the artillery that when this juncture 
arrived, they must pursue rapidly and scatter the disordered 
columns of the retreating foe. The horses of Jackson's guns 



THE CITY TAKEN. 49 

were nearly all slaughtered ; those of his caissons, being farther 
in the rear, had partially escaped. To disengage the dead ani- 
mals from their harness and replace them with the others 
would have consumed many minutes. The eager spirit of Jack- 
son suggested the attachment of his guns to the limbers of liis 
ammunition-boxes instead of their own, and the leaving of the 
remaining caissons on the ground. Thus, in an instant, his sec- 
tion was thundering after the discomfited Mexicans towards the 
gates of the city. The next morning, September 14th, two of 
those gates on the southwestern side were forced, the American 
army entered, and after some partial combats with the riflemen 
in the houses and upon the roofs, quelled all opposition and 
took possession of the capital. 

Jackson had displayed qualities which could not fail to draw 
the eyes of his commanders upon him. The outline which has 
been given of his share in the battles, is sustained by the fol- 
lowing passages from the official reports of the Commander-in- 
Chief, Generals Pillow and Worth, and his own captain. The 
first says : — 

"To the north, and at the base of the mound (Chapultepec), 
inaccessible on that side, the lltli Infantry, under Lieut.-Colonel 
Herbert, and the 14th under Colonel Tronsdale,- and Captain 
Magruder's field-battery, 1st Artillery (one section advanced 
under Lieutenant Jackson), all of Pillow's division, had at the 
same time some spirited affairs against superior numbers, driv- 
ing tlie enemy from a battery in the road, and capturing a gun. 
In these, the officers and corps named gained merited praise. 
Having turned the forest on the west, and arriving opposite to 
the north centre of Chapultepec, Worth came up with the 
troops in the road under Colonel Tronsdale, and aided, by a 
flank movement of a part of Garland's brigade, in taking th^ 



50 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

onc-guii breastwork, then under fire of Lieutenant Jackson's 
Boction of Magruder's battery." 

General Pillow says : — 

"Colonel Tronsdale's command; consisting of the 11th and 
14th Regiments of Infantry, and Magruder's field-battery, en- 
gaged a battery and large force in the road, immediately on the 
west of Chapultepec. The advanced section of the battery, 
under command of the brave Lieutenant Jackson, was dread- 
fully cut up, and almost disabled. ■ Though the command of 
Colonel Trousdale sustained a severe loss, still he drove the 
enemy from his batterj-, and turned his guns upon his retreating 
forces. Captain Magruder's battery, one section of which was 
served with great gallantry by himself, and the other by his 
brave Lieutenant Jackson, in the face of a galling fire from the 
enemy's position, did invaluable service preparatory to the 
general assault." 

General Worth, though commanding a different division of 
troops, gives the following tribute : — 

" After advancing some four hundred yards, we came to a 
battery which had been assailed by a portion of Magruder's 
field-guns, particularly the section under the gallant Jackson, 
who, although he had lost most of his horses and many of his 
men, continued chivalrously at his post, combating with noble 
courage." 

And Magruder thus recommends him for promotion : — 

" I beg leave to call the attention of the Major-General com- 
manding the division to the conduct of Lieutenant Jackson of 
the 1st Artillery. If devotion, industry, talent, and gallantry 
are the highest qualities of a soldier, then is he entitled to the 
distinction which their possession confers. I have been .ably 
seconded in all the operations of the battery by him; and upon 
this occasion, when circumstances placed him in command for a 



JACKSON A BREVET MAJOR. 51 

short time of an independent section, he proved himself emi- 
nently worthy of it." 

It is a singular coincidence, that this report of Captain Mag- 
ruder was addressed immediately to one who has since had 
disastrous occasion to verify its correctness. It was received 
by Captain Joe Hooker; then acting as adjutant to General 
Pillow, afterwards a Major-General in the Federal army,- and , 
Commander at Chancellorsville. 

For his conduct in the battle of Chapultepec, Jackson 
received the brevet rank of Major. To this he had risen, 
purely by the force of his merit, within seven months, from 
the insignificant position of brevet second lieutenant. No 
other officer in the whcle army in Mexico was promoted so 
often for meritorious conduct, or made so great a stride in 
rank. If the conduct which has been detailed be examined, it 
will be found to contain every evidence of bravery, thirst for 
distinction, coolness, and military talent. We see the young 
Lieutenant, the moment the fall of his immediate superior 
placed him in command of a detachment at Churubusco, await- 
ing no orders, but guided by the sound of his Captain's guns 
on his left, emulously pressing forward towards the enemy. At 
Chapultepec he is assigned to the post of honor and danger, 
and advances with alacrity. When Colonel Tronsdale, to 
whom* he owed merely a momentary subordination, thrust him 
into a position almost desperate, and he was well-nigh deserted 
by his men, ho refused to retire without orders. Comprehend- 
ing all the advantages and perils of his situation at once, he 
proposed rather to exercise the further apdacity of storming 
the battery before him, than to attempt a disastrous retreat 
exposed to its fire. And when the arrival of reinforcements 
relieved him of his danger, he displayed his ready resource in 
pursuing the defeated foe, where any other officer would have 



62 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

felt fully justified, iu busying himself only with carrying the 
shattered remains of his command to the rear. 

Many years after, when his pupils were asking him the 
details of the scene, he modestly described it ; and one of them 
exclaimed in astonishment, " Major, why did you not run, when 
your command was thus disabled?" He answered with a 
quiet smile, "I was not ordered to do so. If I had been 
ordered to run, I should have done so. But I was dii-ected to 
hold my position, and I had no right to abandon it." He con- 
fessed also to an intimate friend, that the order of Major- 
General Pillow, separating his section, for the day, from his 
Captain, had excited his abiding gratitude ; so that, while the 
regular oflScers were rather inclined to depreciate that general 
as an unprofessional soldier, he loved him because he gave him 
an opportunity to win distinction. His friends asked him if he 
felt no trepidation when so many were falling around him. He 
replied, no ; the only anxiety of which he was conscious in any 
of these engagements, was a fear, lest he should not meet 
danger enough to make his conduct under it as conspicuous as 
he desired; and as the fire grew hotter, he rejoiced in it as his 
coveted opportunity. He also declared to those who were sur- 
mising the effect of the dangers of battle upon their spirits, 
that to him it was always exalting, and that he was conscious 
of a more perfect command of all his faculties, and of their 
more clear and rapid action, when under fire than at any other 
time. This, it will be remembered, was a distinguishing feature 
in the character of Napoleon's celebrated lieutenant. Marshal 
Ney. The Empercji- was wont to say of him, that he was 
worth little as a general, saw nothing, and could do nothing, 
till he was enveloped in fire and smoke. Then he was all 
energy, sagacity, genius. 

•After the quiet occupation of the city. Major Jackson became 



FORMS ACQUAINTANCE WITH SPANIARDS. 53 

a part of the garrison, and resided there, in a state of pleasant 
military leisure, until the diplomatists had matured a peace, and 
the American army was withdrawn. This season of rest con- 
tinued several months. He was one of those who were quar- 
tered in the national palace, so that he used pleasantly to say, 
that no one had come nearer than himself to realizing the 
inflated predictions of the demagogues of the day in the United 
States, that "their soldiers should lodge in the halls of the Mon- 
tezuraas." His duties were light, and easily despatched in the 
early forenoon ; the climate was delicious ; every object around 
him was full of grandeur or interest to his active mind ; and the 
cultivated hospitality of the Castilians was alluring. It is well 
known how easily the luxurious society of a capital can forget 
national prejudices and humiliations, at tlie call of social enjoy- 
ment, and learn to consider the accomplished and courteous 
professional soldier as no longer an enemy. Many Mexicans, 
moreover, regarded the invading army rather in the light of 
deliverers from a disorderly and oppressive government, than 
of intruders and oppressors. Immediately after the occupation 
of the city, therefore, the places of amusement were re-opened, 
and frequented by a mingled crowd of Americans and Mexicans, 
the ladies walked the streets in crowds, and the young officers 
began to cultivate the acquaintance of the most distinguished 
families. 

To qualify himself for enjoying this society more freely, 
Jackson, with a young comrade, addressed himself to the study 
of the Spanish language. His active mind was, besides, incapa- 
ble of absolute repose, and he wished to improve Jiis leisure 
by acquiring knowledge. He was ignorant of Latin, which 
is not taught at West Point, and the only grammar of Span- 
ish he could find was written in that ancient tongue. Yet 
he bought it, and nothing daunted, set himself to learn 



54 LIFE OF LIEDT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

tlie paradigms of the language from it; and by the help 
of reading and constant conversation with the people, became 
in a few months a good Spanish scholar. It was an amusing 
trait of his character that he appeared afterwards proud of this 
accomplishment, and fond of exercising it, so far as his modest 
nature could be said to make an}' manifestation of pride. He 
ever took pleasure iu testifying to the cultivation, hospitality, 
and flowing courtesy of the Spanisli gentry in Mexico j and, like 
Napier, among their kindred in their mother-country, acknowl- 
edged the fascination of their accomplished manners, and their 
noble and sonorous tongue, and the indescribable grace and 
beauty of their women. Having formed the acquaintance of 
some educated ecclesiastics of the Romish Church (probably 
of the order of Canons), he went, by their invitation, to reside 
with them. lie found their bachelor abode the perfection of 
luxurious comfort. Upon awaking in the morning, the servants 
brought him, before lie arose from bed, a light repast, consisting 
of a few diminutive spiced cakes, and a single cup of that 
delicious chocolate which is found only in Spanish houses. He 
then dressed, ^7cnt out, and attended to the drill of his com- 
pany. Later iu the morning, when the sun began to display his 
power, he returned to a breakfast of colTee, fruits, and game. 
The greater part of the day was then spent in study or visit- 
ing; and it closed with a dinner in which Parisian art vied 
with the tropical fruits native to the climate in conferring enjoy- 
ment. One family especially among his Spanish acquaintances 
extended to him a hospitality for which he was always grateful, 
and it possessed the attraction of several charming daughters. 
He confessed, years after, that he found it advisable to discon- 
tinue his visits there ; and when asked the reason, said with a 
blush, that he found the fascination of some of the female 
charms which he met there was likely to become too strong for 



EELIGIOUS ANXIETIES. 55 

his prudence, unless he escaped tliem iii good time. He declared 
ihat if the people of the city had been equal to their beautiful 
climate, in integrity and character, Mexico would have been the 
Diost fiUuring home for him in the world. But while his taste 
felt the charms of the Spanish grace and lofty courtesy, his 
sturdy English sense and pure honor taught him the incompati- 
bility of a hollow and corrupt state of morals, and a debasing 
religion, with all his radical principles ; and so he firmly with- 
drew himself, before his self-respect was tarnished. 

But we have now reached the most important era in Jackson's 
life; the beginning of a vital change in his religious character. 
All the information which can now be gathered, points to the 
devout Colonel Frank Taylor, commanding his regiment of artil- 
lery, as his first official spiritual guide. This good man was 
accustomed to labor as a father for the religious welfare of his 
young officers; and Jackson's manly nature seems to have 
awakened his especial interest. During the campaign of the 
summer, his instruction and prayers had produced so much 
effect as to awaken an abiding anxiety and spirit of inquiry 
in Jackson's mind. He acknowledged his former practical 
neglect of this transcendent subject, and deplored the vague- 
ness of his religious knowledge. It seems to have lieen 
almost a law of his nature even before it was sanctified, 
that, with him, to be convinced in his understanding of a duty 
was to set straightway about its performance. He resolved to 
make the Bible his study, and with a characteristic independence 
of mind, to take nothing, as to his own religious duties, from 
prejudice, or from the claims of the various denominations into 
which he saw the religious world divided. His attitude towards 
all creeds and sects was at this time singularly unbiassed. His 
parentage cannot be said, to have belonged to any party in 
religion ; his youth had been passed in a household where 



56 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

Christianity was practically unknown ; and his later education 
was obtained among a great company of young men, assembled 
from every church, under the slender instructions of an army 
chaplain. His own religious knowledge was at this time 
extremely scanty. Resolved to examine for himself and decide 
conscientiously, he concluded that there was now a rare oppor- 
tunity to inform himself concerning one church at least, the 
Popish, from a high and authentic source. He was surrounded 
by educated Papists ; and he determined to hear the very best 
they could say in commendation of their system. He therefore 
sought the acquaintance of the Archbishop of Mexico, intro- 
duced, probably, by his monastic friends, and had a number of 
interviews, in which that prelate entered at large into an expla- 
nation of the Romish system. Jackson always declared that he 
believed him a sincere and honest advocate of that Church, and 
that he found him not only affable, but able and learned. He 
also said that the system, as expounded by intelligent Roman- 
ists, was by no means so gross or so obnoxious to common sense 
as is represented by the mass of decided Protestants. The 
truth is (and herein is the subtlety of that form of error), the 
statements of doctrines are so artfully drawn up by the well- 
traintid doctor of the Romish Church, that they may bear always 
two phases of meaning; the one more decided and gross, the 
other more akin to the evangelical truth. When, for instance, 
Rome requires her teachers to say that, in the sinner's justifica- 
tion, the " meritorious cause " is the righteousness of Jesus 
Christ, while the ''formal cause" is the personal holiness in- 
wrought by the grace of the gospel in the Christian's soul ; the 
words in the hands of a Jansenist, may be made almost to mean 
that precious truth which every evangelical Christian, in every 
church, embraces in substance, that our acceptance before God 
is only in the merits of the Redeemer ; while, in the hands of a 



RELIGIOUS AiS^XIETIES, 57 

self-righteous Jesuit, tliey will teach essentially a Pharisaic 
dependence oa our own observances. So the doctrine of pen- 
ance and absolution, in the instruction of the former, will be 
made to mean little more than that the minister of God's cliurch 
is commissioned to publish therein His mercy to the truly peni- 
tent soul; while, in the teachings of the latter, it will encourage 
the ignorant to believe, with a gross literality, that the priest, 
and the priest alone, can forgive sins. Doubtless, in the case 
of Jackson, the skilful polemic saw that his mind was too clear 
and strong to be hoodwinked by the darker phase of these 
dogmas. But with all the casuist's plausibility, he failed to 
commend. Popery .to his convictions. The inquirer departed 
unsatisfied, clearly convinced that the system of the Bible and 
that of Rome were irreconcilable, and that the true religion of 
Jesus Christ was to be sought by him elsewhere. 

These studies seem to have left Jackson's mind for a long 
time in a singular state. His progress towards the full light 
was extremely gradual. He was hencefo;.'ward conscientious, 
and more than ever punctilious about the purity of his life ; he 
never remitted his interest in the great question of his own sal- 
vation; yet, for more than two years after, he still remained in 
suspense. He apparently had no clear persuasion of his ovv'-n 
•acceptance before God, and no settled conviction as to the 
branch of the Church which he should select as his own. 

His residence in Mexico, however, was not long protracted. 
On March 5, 1848, an armistice was concluded for two months 
between General Scott and the Mexican authorities; and on 
May 26th, a treaty of peace was finally ratified. The military 
occupation of the city and territory was therefore terminated as 
speedily as possible; and on the 12th of June, the last of the 
United States' forces left the capital to return home. Major 
Jackson's command was sent to Fort Hamilton, a post situated 



58 ' LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

upon Long Island, seven miles below New York city, and com- 
manding the approach to its harbor, known as tlio Narrows. 
Here we must follow his quiet career for a time through tli- 
monotonous life of a garrison, diversified by occasional resorts 
to the society of a great city. 



LIFE IN LEXINGTON. 59 



CHAPTER IV. 

LIFE IN LEXINGTON. 

The narrative of Major Jackson's introduction into the mili- 
tary academy of the commonwealth of Virginia at Lexington, is 
naturally preceded by a relation of the few incidents of his resi- 
dence at Fort Hamilton. His life here was uneventful, save in 
his spiritual progress. The duties of the garrison fell lightly 
upon him; his rank as an officer of artillery entitled him to 
keep a horse, and thus indulge his passion for equestrian exer- 
cise; and the society of the post, enlivened by the presence of 
the superior officers' families, was attractive. Best of all, his 
Christian friend and father, Colonel Taylor, was residing near 
him, and continued to extend to him his pious advice. To him 
he ever after looked up, as one of the chief instruments of God 
in bringing him to a saving knowledge of the truth. Another 
spiritual guide now presented himself, in the chaplain of the 
garrison, the Rev. Mr. Parks. This gifted man was also an 
alumnus of the military academy at West Point, and a distin- 
guished scholar. His religious zeal had led him to forsake the 
life of a soldier • for that of a minister of the gospel in the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. In this communion he rose to 
distinction as a pulpit orator, and professor in their college, Ran- 
dolph Macon, in Virginia. But his ecclesiastical views having 
undergone a change, he took orders in the Episcopal Church ; 
and, as a clergyman of that communion, had, at one time, a post 



CO LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

at West Point, and, at anotlicr, at Fort Ilaniilton. His ardent 
nature found much that was congenial in Jackson's. Under his 
ministry, the latter arrived at a comfortable hope of salvation, 
insomuch that he felt it his duty and privilege to apply for 
baptism, which he had never received. His conscientious 
inquiries into the claims of the different denominations of 
Christians were still continued, without, however, bringing him 
to any final conclusion. Popery he had examined, and rejected 
as anti-scriptural. Episcopacy he admitted to be an evangeli- 
cal system ; but some of its features he was unwilling to accept 
as of scriptural authority. This state of mind he explicitly 
avowed in asking for baptism at her door, stating that he should 
consider himself, if he obtained that privilege, not a member of 
the Episcopal denomination, but of the catholic body of Christ; 
and that, if ever his conscience and judgment were satisfied as 
to the most scriptural form of the Church, he should feel him- 
self perfectly free to join it, whether it should be that or some 
other. But as his separation from civil life, and the society of 
other Christians, deprived him of the means of comparing and 
judging at that time, he felt that it was his duty, meanwhile, to 
assume, in the appointed rite, the name and service of the 
Redeemer, who, he hoped, had saved him. On this understand- 
ing, the Rev. Mr. Parks baptized him, and admitted him to his 
first communion. 

After a residence of about two years at Fort Hamilton, lifajor 
Jackson was transferred to Fort Meade, near Tampa Bay, on 
the west coast of Florida. It is probable that the feebleness 
of his health, by no means invigorated by the fatigues and 
exposures of Mexico, was one motive oT this change of resi- 
dence. His abode at this post seems to have been as unevent- 
ful as it was short, for he rarely made any allusion to it. On 
the 27th of March, 1851, he was elected Professor of Natural 



PROFESSOR IN THE MILITARY ACADEMY OF VIRGINIA. Gl 

unci Experimental Philosophy and Artillery Tactics in tlio Mili- 
tary Academy of Virginia. This school, fomided about twelve 
years before, upon the model of the one at West Point, had 
grown neai'ly to the distinction of its prototype, and was now 
attended by several hundred young men from Virginia and 
other Southern States. It is placed near the village of Lexing- 
ton, in the county of Rockbridge, one of the most fertile and 
picturesque districts in the great valley of Virginia. Its castel- 
lated buildings, grandly situated on a commanding yet grassy 
eminence, overlook the country for many miles, and, on the east, 
confront tlie Blue Ridge Mountains, which form the boundary 
of the district on that side. The salubrity of the climate, and 
the intelligence of the society, graced also by the faculty of 
Washington College, have always made Lexington an attractive 
residence. The prosperity and growth of the Military Institute 
calling for another instructor in this department, the eyes of its 
governors were directed to Major Jackson, by his high charac- 
ter, scholarship, and brilliant career in Mexico. Other names 
were submitted by the Faculty of West Point, among which 
may be mentioned those of General George B. M'Clellan, Gen- 
eral Reno, and General Rosecranz of the present Federal 
armies, and tlie distinguished General G. W. Smith of the Con- 
federate army. But the high testimonials given to Major Jack- 
son, and his birth as a Virginian, secured the preference of the 
visitors, who elected him by a unanimous vote. The fortunate 
issue of their selection illustrates the wisdom of that rule so 
often violated by the people of the South, to their own injury 
and reproach, to give the preference, in all appointments of 
trust, to citizens " to the manor born." The salary offered him 
■was the modest sum of twelvp hundred dollars, with commuta- 
tion for quarters. 

Jackson was no lover of garrison life, and accepted this 



G2 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

place promptly. . Ho afterwards cxi)lained to an intimate 
friend, that while campaigning was extremely congenial to 
his tastes, the life of a military post in times of peace was 
just as repulsive ; 'that he perceived the officers of the army 
usually neglected self-improvement, and rusted, in trivial amuse- 
ments, at these fortresses; and that, on t^c recurrence of a 
war, the man who had turned, with a good military reputation, 
into the pursuits of a semi-civilian, and who thus vigorously 
prosecuted his mental improvement, miglit expect even more 
promotion in the army than those who had remained in the dull 
tread-mill of the garrison. But he declared that he knew war 
to be his true vocation, that his constant aim in life would ever 
be the career of the soldier, that he only accepted a scholastic 
occupation during peace, and that he was mainly induced to 
this by the military character of the school, and by the oppor- 
tunities which, as professor of the art of the artillerist, he 
would enjoy of continuing his practical acquaintance with his 
chosen calling. He therefore repaired to the Military Institute 
in July, 1851; and in this honorable retirement spent nearly 
ten years. 

The department of instruction committed to him, embraced 
the theory and practice of gunnery, and the sciences of mechan- 
ics, optics, and astronomy. These were taught in part by 
experiment, and in part by the application of mathematical an- 
alysis. To determine the theories of light and of motion, o,nd 
the doctrines of astronomy, he employed the most abstruse and 
re lined applications of geomctr}', and of the calculus of flux- 
ions. The cadet ^vas introduced from the simpler studies of 
I)ure mathematics to this arduous course, and, consequently, it 
was generally feared and dislike(^ by him. Indeed, it may well 
be questioned, whether the minds of most youths have sufficient 
maturity, at the age when they usually complete their second 



HIS SUCCESS. 63 

year in the military school, to grapple with these discussions 
successfully. The major part of the classes were, probably, 
overcome by the demands made upon their powers of abstrac- 
tion and logic, and floundered along, in the rear of their in- 
structor, catching only occasional glimpses of the recondite 
truth. Major Jackson had never been a teacher, nor had the 
bustle of the life into wliicli he plunged, at his first step from 
West Point; left him much opportunity to review these abstruse 
studies. When asked by a friend (after his success had long 
been assured) whether he had not been diffident of himself in 
undertaking so untried and arduous a course of instruction, he 
replied,' "No; he expected to be able to study sufficiently in 
advance of his class ; for one could always do what he willed to 
accomplishy 

His career as a professor was respectable, but never popular. 
None doubted the strength of his mind, nor his thorough schol- 
arship, nor his conscientious industry', nor his justice and im- 
partiality. But, while' all his better students were accustomed 
to assert his thorough competency, discontent with his labors 
was not infrequent, both among his pupils and the alumni of 
the school. To all the better intellects of his class he com- 
municated accurate scholarship, and the thoroughness of his 
mental drill was most useful. But the laggards lagged very far 
in the rear, and he was unsuccessful in bringing them up. This 
resulted, as has been already intimated, in part from the difficult 
nature* of his department; but in part also from the constitution 
of Jackson's mind. He lacked some of the peculiar tact of 
the eminent teacher; and this was precisely because of the 
greatness of his endowments as a soldier and commander. 
The perceptions of his mind were so vigorous and distinct, 
and seized so exclusively on the main points of consideration, 
that all conclusions were with him perfectly defined. Hence 



64 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

there was, to liim, but one formula of words wliich gave an 
exact expression to his thought. If one complained that his 
comprehension was imperfect, and asked for another statement, 

Jackson had no answer to make save to repeat his first formula. 

• 

Now, to the leader, whose function it is to give orders to be 
obeyed, this trait is invaluable. In the teacher, whose work is 
to assist the comprehension of weaker minds, it is a defect. 
The very force and clearness with which Jackson's mind moved 
along from its premises to its conclusions, made it improbable 
that it would travel any second path, less plain than the one 
first perceived by his strong intuition. Hence, he lacked versa- 
tility and powers of elucidation. His intolerance of laziness, 
also, concurred to make the youth of defective comprehension 
dissatisfied with his teachings. But in the art of examining, 
one most essential to tho efficiency of the teacher, he was emi- 
nent. His questions were always fair, always well chosen to 
eviscerate the subject, and always put in words carefully 
selected — words absolutely perspicuous, and true to the thought 
he aimed to propound, without the use of one superfluous 
phrase. If the pupil said he did not comprehend the point of 
the inquiry, Jackson was sure to repeat precisely the same 
words, with yet more deliberation. He held that when the 
form of the question was already perspicuous, an inability to 
comprehend it was, in fact, evidence of an inability to answer 
it. It may easily be conceived that this method was not likely 
to be peculiarly pleasing to an indolent youth, who, coming lialf 
prepared to his recitation, desired to extract a hint to assist his 
own ignorance, in the shape of a "leading question" from the 
teacher. 

Another cause which detracted from Jackson's success as a 
teacher of the natural sciences, was the lack of practical skill 
in performing physical experiments. As has been remarked, he 



HIS EYESIGHT IMPAIRED. 65 

was not gifted with much of the minute manual dexterity which 
goes to the making of a skilful artisan or musician ; nor had his 
mind that " mechanical turn " which Sir Walter Scott declared 
to be, in his opinion, the usual index of a little trumpery under- 
standing. His experiments were not brilliant, and sometimes 
they resulted in ludicrous blunders, at which he laughed as 
heartily as any of the lads of his class. 

One of the most painful consequences of his ill health was a 
weakness of the eyes, which rendered reading by any artificial 
light injurious, and threatened total blindness. This infirmity 
was not usually revealed by any visible inflammation, but rather 
affected the nerves of vision. lie made it a conscientious duty, 
as well as found it a necessity, to forego all reading after night- 
fall, except the short portion of the Scriptures with which he 
invariably closed the day. But as the hours of daylight were 
necessarily much occupied with the duties of the class-room, 
the drill, and the Faculty, this deprivation of the quiet hours of 
night, which most scholars find so precious, was a serious difii- 
culty, and imposed on him a peculiar method of study. During 
that part of the day which remained after his morning recita- 
tion, he carefully read over the text of the subjects which he 
wished to study for the next day, fixing the outlines of the dis- 
cussion in his retentive memory. After devoting the remainder 
of his afternoon to domestic or social duties, he took his frugal 
supper, and proceeded to complete the studies of the morning 
with(^ut lamp, book or diagram, either pacing the floor of his 
chamber, or quietly seated with his face to the wall. In this 
mental review, he passed over every link of the logic of the 
discussion, completed its method in his own mind, and assured 
his perfect recollection of it, so as to be prepared to teach it on 
the morrow. This study completed in one or two hours, he 
pleasantly wheeled his chair towards the fire, reuioved the 

9 



66 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

injunction wliicli lie laid, at beginning, against addressing con- 
versation to him, and passed into whatever topic engaged the 
attention of his family. His instructions in the class-room were 
accordingly conducted without ever referring to books, although 
very closely conformed to them. Not only was his recollection 
of their contents perfect, but even of the place upon the page 
where each proposition might be found. Now, when his depart- 
ment of instruction -is remembered, which involved the constant 
use of the most refined mathematical analysis, and discussion 
of figure, dimensions, motions, and relations of bodies in space, 
which most minds comprehend with difficulty, even by the aid 
of diagrams and models, the best scholar will best understand 
how astonishing was the exercise of memory, abstraction, 
imagination, and logical power in these studies. Some may 
notice with incredulity the word imagination, included in this 
enumeration, and may rejoin, that Jackson was notoriously 
unimaginative and prosaic. If the name of this noble faculty, 
the imagination, be degraded, as it is popularly, to express 
the habitude of employing many tropes, either invented, or 
recollected and borrowed, in the expression of tlie thoughts, 
then it is conceded that he was not imaginative. He was 
not prone to indulge his fancy; but, whether through inca- 
pacity, the reader will perhaps discover. If, however, imagina- 
tion is used in its proper sense, to express the creative power 
of the mind, the ability to reproduce in tlie chambers of the 
soul, and without the aid of sensation, the elements of concep- 
tion, and to combine them, with a vivid distinctness, in new 
relations, then Jackson had the faculty in great strength. And, 
hence, it becomes true, that there is no better cultivation of this 
faculty, than in the distinct comprehension of the subjects of the 
applied mathematics, in their higher branches, by this purely 
mental study. The great mathematician may not be accustomed 



HIS IMAGINATION. 67 

to bedizen his discourses with similes concerning purling brooks 
and silvery moonbeams ; * but he can map out in conception the 
great circles of the heavens, equinoctial and ecliptic, with the 
orbits of the planets, and grasp the related movements of the 
worlds in his thought, as they wheel in intricate, yet orderly 
labyrinths ; a task under which the feeble mind of the poetaster 
collapses in hopeless confusion. The former knows how to 
body forth, with the distinctness of actual vision, the combina- 
tions of all the elements of thought which the mind gathers, in 
her illimitable excursions beyond the regions explored by the 
senses. He can so produce, before his thought, things that arc 
not seen, and things that shall be, with the palpable reality of 
things that are seen, and of things that are, as to awaken by 
them all the strong emotions of the soul, which in natures less 
- noble Avait upon the actual information of sensation. And this 
is most essentially that faculty of the intellect which raises man 
from the sensuous animal toward the all-knowing Spirit, in 
whose image he is made. This is the faculty which, in the great 
statesman and commander, groups the data for the inspection of 
the profound judgment, which enables him for the clear compre- 
hension of vast and multiplex affairs, and which ministers to his 
soul the stimulus of grand resolves. 

One can now comprehend how valuable was the training 
which Jackson's mind received, in these meditations without 
book upon abstract truths, for his work as a soldier. Command 
over his attention was formed into a habit which no tempest of 
confusion could disturb. His power of abstraction became un- 
rivalled. His imagination was trained and invigorated, until it 
became competent for grouping the most extensive and complex 
considerations. The power of his mind to endure its own ten- 

* Purpureus, late qui splendeat, unus et alter 
Assuitur pannus. Hon. Ad Pisones. 



G8 LIFE OF LIEUT.-CxEXERAL JACKSON. 

sion, iu tlic labors of rc{lccti')ii and volition, was drilled like 
llie strength of the athlete. His self-concentration became un- 
irpassed. Having fixed upon his mind the positions of his 
forces and of the enemy's, and the relations of the routes, rivers, 
mountains and fortresses, by the inspection of a map ; he could 
>tu(ly all the possible combinations of movements as he rode, 
rapt in thought, at the head of his columns, with as much 
maturity as though alone in his chamber. Hence, in part, it 
I'csulted, that while no commander gave more scope to his own 
, versatility and resource in the progress of events, there was 
never one whose foresight was more complete. Nothing emerged 
which had not been considered bejfore in his mind-; no possi- 
bility was overlooked ; he was never surprised. 

Jackson's life at the military school in Lexington was regular, 
and marked by few incidents. It was, however, the season when 
liis personal character received its shape. It therefore appears 
a suitable place in this narrative, to proceed with its delineation, 
illustrating it by the few events of the period. 

lie was, without doubt, of a nature intensely ambitious and 
aspiring. The depression of his poverty and orphanage, in his 
youth, had only stimulated this passion in him. The evidences 
of its existence have been already given, in his zeal for military 
distinction during the Mexican War, and for scholarship at "West 
Point, as well as in his ulterior purposes of life. To his inti- 
mate friend he once remarked, that the officer should always 
ijiake the attainment of rank supreme, within honorable bounds, 
over every other consideration. , Some sacrificed advancement 
to convenience, to secure service in a post where residence was 
pleasant, or to evade the authority of a harsh or unpopular 
superior ; but his rule had been to secure promotion, if possible, 
at the cost of all such considerations ; because, with the ad- 
vancement in rank, the chances for distinction must usually 



HIS AMBITION. 69 

improve. But his love of trntli and rectitude was too strong 
and instinctive to permit Iiis thirsting for any other than 
deserved distinction. He drew broadlj'- the mark between 
notoriety and true fame. His passion deserved, as nearly as 
any man's could, the poet's description as — 

"The last infirmity of noble minds." 

Yet it was, as he himself avowed, an infirmity ; that is to say, 
it was unquestionably an unsanctified principle, and inconsistent 
with Christian holiness — as it is in the breasts of all natural 
men. * His Christian character was then in its germ, and the 
spirit of the military profession in which he had long been 
immersed, far away from all churches and their influences, 
blinded him to the nature of his aspirations. Yery soon, he 
listened to no other than a sanctified ambition. In June, 1854, 
the Visitors of the University of Virginia held an election for 
Professor of Mathematics, to succeed Mr. Courtenay, himself an 
alumnus of West Point, who had long filled that place usefully 
and respectably. This University was the first in America, in 
the thoroughness of its instructions, and the dignities and emol- 
uments of its professors. Jackson presented himself as a can- 
didate, and procured many testimonials in support of his claims 
from persons of distinction, in which they concurred in ascrib- 
ing to him competent scholarship, while they dwelt on his ener- 
gy, devotion to duty, and courage. Among these were many 
teachers of the West-Point Academy, and Lieut.-Col. Robert E. 
Lee, then its Superintendent. When Jackson mentioned his 
project to his friend, he said to him : " Have you not departed 
here from what you told me, upon coming to this military school, 
was the purpose of your life ? " [He referred to the declaration 
that war was his proper vocation.] Jackson, who seemed never 
to. forget his own most casual remarks, or to overlook the obli- 



70 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

gation to maintaiu consistency with what he had once said, 
replied, " I avow that my views have changed." He then pro- 
ceeded to explain, that while he should ever retain the same 
conviction concerning his own adaptation to the soldier's life, 
his convictions concerning war as a pathway to distinction were 
greatly modified ; and that he would now by no means accept a 
commission in any war which the United States might wage, 
irrespective of its morality. He had never, he said, while an 
ungodly man, been inclined to tempt Providence by going in 
advance of his duty ; he had never seen the day when he would 
have been likely to volunteer for a forlorn hope, although' indif- 
ferent to the danger of a service to which he was legitimately 
ordered. But now, that he was endeavoring to live the life of 
faith, lie would engage in no task in which he did not believe he 
should enjoy the Divine approbation; because, with this, he 
should feel perfectly secure under the disposal of Divine Provi- 
dence ; without it, he would have no right to be courageous. 
If, then, his country were assailed in such a way as to justify an 
appeal to defensive war in God's sight, he should desire to 
return to military life; but unless this happened, he should 
continue a simple citizen. But as such he regarded it as every 
man's duty to seek the highest cultivation* of his powers, and the 
widest sphere of activity within his reach; and therefore he 
desired to be transferred to the State Universitj'-. In this 
desire, however, he was disappointed ; another gentleman was 
elected, and he acquiesced with perfect cheerfulness. 

In politics, Jackson was always a Democrat. This term, in 
Virginia, always had reference more to the principles of Federal 
polity, the assertion of the sovereignty and reserved rights of 
the States, and tlie strict limitation of those of tlie Central 
Government, witli the advocacy of a simple and unambitious 
exercise of its delegated powers, which were inculcated by Mr. 



HIS POLITICS. 71 

Jefferson, tban to a government for the individual States, strictly 
popular, and founded on universal suffrage. To the latter, the 
most of the Yirginian statesmen of the States' Rights school 
were no friends ; and the State-constitution of South Carolina, 
the most thoroughly democratic of all the States as to Federal 
politics, is the farthest removed from literal democracy. But it 
is probable that Jackson would have accepted the name of a 
Democrat in more of its literality than the statesmen we have 
described. In Federal politics he was certainly a strict con- 
structionist of the straitest sect. He voted with his party 
uniformly. To political discussions, in conversation, he was not 
given ; and, while exceedingly exact in maintaining candor, he 
would usually content himself, when assailed by a political 
opponent, with a firm and polite declaration that he could not 
concur in his opinions, relapsing then into a silence from which 
no pertinacity could tempt him. With one or two intimates he 
conversed on public measures freely and with animation. And 
they always found his thoughts original and profound. He read 
little of the political journals ; had there been no other reason 
for his disregard of them, his conscientious belief that it was 
his duty to employ his feeble eyesight in more important things, 
would have prevented him. His political opinions were, there- 
fore, very far from being the echo of other men's. He approached 
each subject from his own point of view, and this was usually 
found to be as conclusive as it was original. 

Unaffected modesty was imprinted upon his countenance, and 
every trait of his manners. No man ever lived who was further 
removed from egotism. Even his most intimate friend never heard 
him mention his own brilliant military career, of his own accord; 
nor did he ever speak of his family or kindred, many of whom, 
by their talents and social position, might have afforded topics 
for a boastful man. Yet his self-reliance was strong j as was 



72 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

proved by his favorite maxim. Mentioning to a friend, one day 
the omission in his academic education at West Point, Avhicli 
left him ignorant of Latin, he added : '• But I tliink it probable 
that I shall some day repair this, and become as familiar with 
that language as with the Spanish." His friend replied, that 
perhaps he might acquire a partial knowledge of it by great 
effort ; but it was generally held, that one who had not imprinted 
the forms of the language on the plastic memory in childhood, 
could never repair that loss, so as to become a familiar master 
of the tongue. He answered, " No ; if I attempt it, I shall be- 
come a master of the language; I can accomplish whatever I 
will to do." When he was a candidate for the Chair of Mathe- 
matics in the University of Virginia, one of his few intimates 
suggested a fear that he had mistcikcn his own capacities, in 
seeking that place ; because the method of teaching there was 
so largely by lecture ; whereas his method was by the use of 
text-books ; and he must be aware that he had little facility in 
extempore discourse. He acknowledged that he well knew that 
fact, and never dreamed of becoming eloquent j but, said he, 
" by effort I shall succeed as a lecturer, for I can accomplish 
anything I will to perform." It may be added, that there is no 
instance known in wliieh he ftiilcd of realizing his boast. 

The strength of his will was shown in his unfailing punctu- 
ality, in tlie vigor of his self-discipline — both bodily and mental, 
and in the energy of his actions. Among other improvements 
of his powers, he determined that he would acquire the art of 
speaking in public. To this end he became a member of the 
" Franklin Society," a respectable literary association in Lexing- 
ton — endowed with a handsome hall and library — where the 
gentlemen of the town and of its scholastic institutions met for 
forensic debates, and other intellectual exercises. Here he was 
always a punctual Mtendant, and always spoke in his turn. His 



SUCCESS AS A PUBLIC SPEAKER. 73 

first essa3'S were as painful to his audience as tlicy probably 
were to himself; confused, halting, and frequently ending in an 
abrupt silence, when the power of controlling liis thoughts for 
the time deserted him. Thus arrested by his own embarrass- 
ment, he would sit down, nowise abashed ; and so powerful was 
the impress of his modesty and manly purpose upon his fellow- 
members, that none were ever seen to smile at these failures, 
although sometimes repeated a second and a third time, in the 
same evening. At a suitable moment he would rise again, and 
renew his eifort, perhaps to end it with a similar painful halt. 
Bat before the close of the debate he would succeed in ex- 
pressing the substance of what he had in his mind. By this 
dogged resolution, he gradually learned to control his diffidence, 
and became an effective speaker. His manner was rapid -and 
emphatic, his thoughts marked by great directness, and his dis- 
course began and ended with exceedingly little of exordium and 
peroration. So complete was his success, that he was said to 
have made, in a popular assemblage of his neighborhood, one of 
the most effective speeches ever heard. It was but ten minutes 
long ; but it produced unanimity in an assembly before diyided. 
He might have said, like the patriarch of Uz, " Unto me men 
gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel : after my 
words, they spake not again." 

During nearly his whole life in Lexington, Jackson was a val- 
etudinarian, and his regimen of body contributed no little to his 
character for singularity. He was ever scrupulously neat, and 
having, in one of his vacations, visited a hydropathic establish- 
ment in New England with supposed benefit, he became after- 
wards a still greater votary of cold water. He seems to have 
studied physiology and the laws of health m. the same conscien- 
tious and business-like manner in which he performed all his 
tasks, and to have formed his own conclusions as to diet from 

10 



74 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

observing his own sensations. When these results were reached, 
he followed them out with an absolute self-denial, and without a 
particle of regard to their singularity'. Yet, unlike most inva- 
lids, he was as catholic towards others as he was strict to him- 
self; and, allowing each person to be a law unto himself, never 
denounced their indulgences as excesses, because they would 
have been such if committed by him. Some of his self-denying 
customs appeared very odd to those around him ; but their de- 
fence may be found in the fact, that this temperance repaired an 
enfeebled constitution, and made it capable of great endurance. 
The most learned physiologists now admit, that the surd antii> 
athies and appetencies of the corporeal tastes arc often the most 
profoundly accurate indications of the wants of the system. 
Thus, when Jackson for a season refused the least trace of any- 
thing saccharine in his food, his conduct was probably wiser 
than that of the observers wlio called him whimsical. It is 
noteworthy that, at all times, he preferred the simplest food, 
and that he lived absolutely without any stimulant; using neither 
tea, coffee, tobacco, nor wine. This abstinence, however, was 
from principle, not from insensibility. Thus, reconnoiteriug the 
enemy's front on an occasion, in the winter of 1862, when pru- 
dence forbade the use of fire, he became so chilled, tbat his 
medical attendant, in real alarm for his safety, urged him to 
take some stinmlant. There was nothing at hand except ardent 
spirits, and so he consented to take some. As he experienced a 
difficulty in swallowing it, and it seemed to produce the sensa- 
tion of choking, his friend asked if it was very unpleasant. 
" No," said he ; " no, I like it ; I always did ; and that is the 
reason I never use it." At another time he took a long and 
exhausting walk with a brother officer, who was also a temperate 
and God-fearing man. Tiic walk terminating at his quarters, 
he proposed to General Jackson, in consequence of their fatigue, 



• HIS HEALTH. 75 

to join him in a glass of brandy and water: "No," said he; ''I 
am much obliged, but I never use it; I am more afraid of it 
than of Federal bullets." What a rebuke is here to that vain 
conceit and pride of character, which resents the friendly 
caution, and the call to watchfulness as disparaging to one's 
strength. This mighty man of God acknowledged that he was 
afraid of temptation. " When he was weak, then was he 
strong." How many a young man would have escaped the 
drunkard's grave if he had acted on this manly philosophy 1 
Jackson always professed his ability to exert an absolute con- 
trol over his appetites ; and declared that he could feel little 
sympathy with suffering in others, which was caused by self- 
indulgence. When the people about him complained of head- 
aches, or other consequences of imprudence, he would say : " Do 
as I do ; govern yourself absolutely, and you will not suffer. 
My head never aches ; if a thing disagrees with me, I never 
eat it." 

His hours were early and regular ; and rare must be the 
social obligation which induced him to depart from them. For 
in all these regulations, imposed on himself for the preservation 
of his health, he was accustomed to argue, that having deter- 
mined any rule to be necessary, he was under a moral obligation 
to observe it. In vain did any friend plead that the one instance 
of relaxation in his system could not possibly work an appre- 
ciable injury. His uniform answer was : " Perfectly true ; but 
it would become a precedent for another, and thus my rule 
would be broken down, and health would be injured, which 
•would be a sin." Thus he carried out his self-denial in the use 
of his eyesight so rigidly, that even a letter received on Satur- 
day night, if it was only one of compliment or friendship, was 
not read by him until Monday morning ; for his Sabbaths were 
sacredly reserved from the smallest secular distractions. If his 



76 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

friend exclaimed, "Surely, Major, jour eyes would not be injured 
by the reading of one letter now; " liis answer was, "I suppose 
they would not ; but if I read this letter to-night, which it is 
not truly necessary to do, I shall be tempted to read somctliing 
else that interests me to-morrow night, and the next, so that my 
rule will be broken down. Then my eye-sight will undoubtedly 
be injured. But if I thus incapacitate myselt^ by acts not really 
necessary, for my duties to my employers and my pupils in the 
institute, I shall commit sin." And once, when his most intimate 
friend knew that he had received a letter of affection late on 
Saturday night, the question was asked, as they were walking to 
church on Sabbath morning, " Major, surely you have read your 
letter ? " " Assuredly not," said he. " Where is it ? " asked his 
friend. "Here," said ho, tapping the pocket of his coat. 
" What obstinacy ! " exclaimed his friend. " Do you not know 
that your curiosity to learn its contents will distract your atten- 
tion from divine worship, far more than if you had done with 
reading it? Surely, in this case, to depart from your rule 
would be promotive of a true Sabbath observance, instead of 
injurious to it ? " " No," answered he, quietly; " I shall make 
ihe most faithful effort I can to govern my thoughts, and guard 
them from unnceessary distraction ; and as I do this from a 
sense of duty, I expect the divine blessing on it." Accordingly, 
he afterwards declared, that his soul was on that day unusually 
composed and devout, and his spiritual enjoyment of thq 'public 
and private worship of the day peculiarly rich. 

Under a similar sense of moral responsibility, he acquitted 
himself punctually of all social obligations. When a single 
man, he went into society as frequently as other young men of 
regular habits, saying that he was constrained to do so by a 
sense of justice and humanity ; for when an acquaintance took 
the trouble to prepare an entertainment, and honored him with 



SENSE OP MORAL RESPONSIBILITY. 77 

an invitation, to attend, wliere no duty interposed, was tlie only 
equitable return due for the kindness. In such assemblages he 
was never entirely at ease ; but it may be said with truth, that 
there, as everywhere, his courtesy was perfect. No attention 
due to the host and hostess was ever omitted ; no salutation 
ever failed to meet the most polite return ; the very slightest 
favor never went without thanks. No female ever came short 
of her fair share of the attentions of the other sex, that he did 
not at once relinquish his own preferences, and devote himself 
to her entertainment. But when his early hour of retirement 
came, no allurements could detain him; and sometimes the 
ingenious plans laid by fair enemies to keep him, which he 
was too courteous to break through, placed him for a moment 
in amusing embarrassment. One of his most rigid rules was, 
never to eat a morsel after his frugal supper. Hence, in the 
refreshments offered at a later hour, he refused to have any part, 
to the distress of his hostesses. Amidst the clatter of china and 
conversation, and the sparkle of wines and ices, the tall form of 
the Major stood firm ; polite, yet constrained ; in the gay throng, 
but not of it. When a friend ur2:ed him at least to avoid the 
awkwardness of the position for himself and the hostess, by seem- 
ing to participate, his answer was that he did not consider it 
truthful to seem to do what he was not really doing. Indeed, his 
care not to transgress the strict truth seemed to others esces-. 
sive. He never talked at random, even in the most unguarded 
moment, or on the most trivial subject. All his statements 
were well-considered. On rare occasions something might have 
escaped him which he regarded as an exception ; and then, it 
mattered not how unessential the subject of it might be, and 
how impossible it might appear that any actual evil could 
emerge out of his mistake, he made it a part of the serious 
business of the next day to give a full explanation. 



78 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON". 

His person was tall, erect, and muscular, with tlie large hands 
and feet characteristic of all his race. Ilis bearing Avas pecu- 
liarly English; and therefore, in the somewhat free society of 
America, was regarded ab constrained. Every movement was 
quick and decisive ; his articulation was not rapid, but distinct 
and emphatic, and, accompanied by that laconic and perspicuous 
phrase to which it was so well adapted, it often made the 
impression of curtncss. He practised a military exactness in 
all the courtesies of good society. Different opinions existed 
as to his comeliness, because it varied so mucli with the condition 
of his health and animal spirits. His brow was exceedingly 
fair and expansive; his eyes were blue, large, and expressive, 
reposing usually in placid calm, but able none the less to flash 
lightning. His nose was Roman, and exceedingly well chiselled ; 
his cheeks ruddy and sunburnt; his mouth firm and full of 
meaning; and his chin covered with a beard of comely brown. 
The remarkable characteristic of his face was the contrast be- 
tween its sterner and its gentler moods. As he accosted a 
friend, or dispensed the hospitalities of his own house, his 
serious, constrained look gave place to a smile, so sweet and 
sunny in its graciousness, that he was another man. But hearty 
laughter, especially, was a complete metamorphosis. His blue 
eyes then danced, and his countenance rippled with a glee and 
abandon literally infantile. This smile was indescribable to 
one who never saw it. Had there been a painter with genius 
subtile enough to fix upon his canvas, side by side, the spirit of 
the countenance Avith which he caught the sudden jest of a child 
romping on his knees, and that with which, in the crisis of battle, 
he gave his generals the sharp and strident command, " Sweep 
the field with the bayonet 1" he would have accomplished a 
miracle of art, which the spectator could scarcely credit as true 
to nature. 



POPULAR ESTDIATE EXPLAINED. 79 

In "walking, his step was long and rapid, and at once suggested 
the idea of the dismounted horseman. It has been said that he 
was an awkward rider, but incorrectly. A sufficient evidence 
of this is the fact that he was never thrown. It is true that on 
the march, when involved in thouglit, he was heedless of tlyn 
grace of his posture ; but in action, or as he rode with bare 
head along his column, acknowledging the shouts which rent the 
skies, no figure could be nobler than his. His judgment of 
horses was excellent, and it was very rare that he was not well 
mounted. 

Such was the man as he left the quiet walks of the Military 
Academy, in the spring of 1861, to begin a career which was 
to fill the world with his fame. Most of those who were con- 
versant with him were unconscious of his power. A few inti- 
mates, indeed, were well aware of his capacity, and predicted 
for him an exalted destiny (for which they were usually held to 
be as singular as Jackson himself) ; but, with the many, he 
passed for a sensible, odd man, of undoubted courage, energy, 
and goodness ; competent to a respectable success in anything 
to which he might bend his determined will, but to nothing 
more. -Yet the cadets of his school gloried in his military 
prowess, of discussing which they were never weary ; and the 
universal feeling among them was, that if ever they were called 
into actual service, he was the man whom they would prefer for 
their leader. The incorrect estimate which the many formed of 
him can be readily explained. Major Jackson was a man whom 
it was no easy matter to know ; not because he sought to hide 
himself from scrutiny, nor because he was in the slightest degree 
covert in what he said or did, but because there was a breadth 
and depth of character about him, that would never be suspected 
by the superficial and bigoted. He was pre-eminently modest, 
and inexpressibly opposed to self-display, and equally consider- 



80 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

ate of tlic taste aucl character of those with whom he lielJ inter- 
course. He moulded liis share of that intercourse accordingly. 
His scrupulous and delicate politeness made it always his aim 
to render others easy and comfortable in his presence. His 
first thought on meeting with them seemed to be — Avhat subjects 
of conversation would be most familiar to their thoughts, and 
most consonant to their feelings. He never introduced a sub- 
ject merely because it was one with which he was most at home, 
or on which he could best exhibit his talents, or parade his 
information. With a clergyman or lady, he never introduced 
party politics or military science. Having led the conversa- 
tion, with polite deference to that topic upon which his guest 
seemed best fitted to shine, he became usually an attentive but 
almost silent listener, and made no disclosure of his own stores 
of knowledge, or of profound and original reflections on the 
same subject; although they were often far more complete than 
those of the person whom he thus accepted as an instructor. 
And had not subsequent facts evinced his superiority, his ac- 
quaintance would have felt it almost incredible that one who 
was so well qualified to speak with confidence, should so entirely 
suppress the desire to speak. Thus many a minister of th- 
gospel has been led by him to speak on ethical, ecclesiastical, 
or theological subjects, and has carried away the impression 
that the modest soldier, although almost ignorant of the alpha- 
bets of those sciences, had at least the merit of an earnest 
appetite for the knowledge of them, when in truth Jackson had 
read as much upon them as he had, and with more close atten- 
tion, and possessed more matured opinions concerning them. 
The young person of literary tastes would be led to talk of the 
British classics, or the great writers of romance, and would 
leave him with the belief that he was innocent of all classical 
reading, except the great masters of holy writ; for his honesty 



SOCIETY IX WHICH HE MOVED. 81 

■was so strict, that if Iiis knowledge of any author or literary 
fact were taken for granted, he would never rest in a tacit acqui- 
escence, but would stop his interlocutor to undeceive liim, by 
declaring his ignorance. Yet, while his feeble eye-siglit and 
conscientious improvement of time had forbidden a promiscuous 
course of literary reading, he had studied the most important 
poets and historians with far more thorough judgment and taste 
than he permitted his young friends to divine. 

In the sphere which of right belonged to him, he rarely if ever 
asked advice. No man knew his proper place better, or held it 
more tenaciously ; and no man ever accorded this right to others 
more promptly or scrupulously. As a member and officer of 
the Church, he was eminently deferential to hi-s pastor, as his 
superior officer. But, as a commander in camp, he would no 
more defer to the. judgment of that pastor, than to that of the 
humblest of his own soldiers, 

Americans being inordinately given to speech-making — an 
art which has acquired importance from their popular institu- 
tions — have set an overweening value upon eloquence as a test 
of ability ; but Jackson professed to be no talker. He had no 
peculiar gift for teaching ; yet teaching was, at Lexington, his 
profession. In finding a solution of the erroneous estimate of 
Jo,ckson to which we have referred, something is also to be 
attributed to the character of the little society in whicli he 
moved. It was cultivated, bat limited in extent; and, accord- 
ingly, it had its own closely-defined standard, by comparison 
with which every man was tried. In a society more cosmopol- 
itan, such characters as Jackson are less apt to be misappre- 
hended, because it consists not of one, but of many coteries, and 
• because contact with diversified forms of talent and cultivation, 
gives breadth and tolerance to the views. This is but saying, 
in substance, what the voice of Fame has since pronounced, that 
11 



82 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

the wider the arena on which he acted, the greater his capacity 
appeared. 

But there were always a few, and they the most competent to 
understand a gifted nature, wlio declared Jackson to be a man 
of mark. To these chosen intimates he unbosomed himself, 
modestly, yet without reserve. His views of public affairs were 
broad, and elevated far above the scope of the party journals 
which assumed to dictate public opinion. His mind was one 
which would have made him a subtile and profound jurist. The 
few who attributed to him this type of intellect, had their esti- 
mate fully sustained, by the manner in which he discussed those 
numerous questions of a judicial nature which claim the atten- 
tion, of the leader of great armies. In the iuterpretation of 
orders and army regulations ; in the settlement of rank between 
competing claimants ; in the proceedings of courts-martial ; in 
the discrimination between military and civil jurisdiction, which 
is often so difficult ; his mind always approached the question 
from an original point of view, and rarely did it fail to be 
decisive to every attentive understanding. But it was especially 
in the discussion of military affairs that the mastery of his 
genius appeared. When these topics were introduced, his mind 
assumed its highest animation, he disclosed a knowledge which 
surprised his auditors, and his critibisms were profound. One 
instance may be noted among many. In the summer of 1856, 
he employed his long vacation in a European tour, in which he 
visited England, France, and Switzerland. During this journey 
he carefully examined the field of Waterloo, and traced out 
upon it the positions of the contending armies. When he 
returned home, he said that although Napoleon was the greatest 
of commanders, he had committed an error in selecting the 
Chateau of Hougomout as the vital point of attack upon the 
British line, it should have been the village of Mont St. Jean. 



JOINS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 83 

This opinion has subsequently been corroborated by high 
authority in the military art. 

But the most important feature of Jackgon's character was 
the religious ; and this is the most appropriate topic for illustra- 
tion at this place, because it was mainly developed at Lexington. 
His peculiar posture towards Christianity upon coming there, 
has been described. He had been baptized, upon profession of 
his faith, by an Episcopal clergyman, but refused to be consid- 
ered as committed to Episcopacy. In this state of opinion he 
had been admitted, at least once, to the communion of the Lord's 
Supper. While his religious knowledge was defective, and his 
Christian character consequently failed at that time in symmetry, 
it was sincere and honest, and, from the purity of his morals 
and his devotional habits, it was consistent. 

Upon removing to Lexington, where the Christian people 
were divided among the Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Wesleyan 
Methodists, and Baptists, he at first attended the public worship 
of all their churches indiscriminately, listening with exemplary 
respect and attention. But after a time he discontinued this 
promiscuous worship. The pastor of the Presbyterians was the 
Rev. William S. White, D. D., a venerable man, who speedily 
became so intimately related to the religious life and teuderest 
affections of the great soldier, that an allusion to his devout 
eloquence, genial heart, and apostolic piety, is unavoidable in 
this narrative. Jackson sought an introduction to him in the 
autumn of 1851, and very soon paid himi a confidential visit in 
his study, to lay before him his spiritual interests. He told him 
the steps he had taken, and declared his hope of his acceptance 
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ ; but said that he had 
not then been able to determine with what branch of the Church 
to connect himself. Popery he had examined under the most 
favorable auspices, and he had been constrained to reject it as 



84 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENEIUL JACKSON. 

an apostasy from tlio system of Holy Writ. Of Episcopacy he 
had learned something from his friends Colonel Taylor and the 
Rev. Mr. Parks, wl^ose religious principles and feelings lie, to a 
great extent, approved and embraced; but with some of the 
features of that system he was not satisfied. He had given 
equal consideration to the claims and peculiarities of other 
brandies of the Church. He now, for the first time, had a fair 
opportunity to observe the genius and working of Presbyteri- 
anism under its better auspices; and he found its worship 
congenial to his principles, and desired to know more of its 
character. 

The result of his inquiries was, that on the 22d of November, 
1851, he was received, by profession of his faith, as a member 
of that church. His accession in that mode was an avowal that 
he came in, not as one transferred from some other denomina- 
tion in the visible church to the Presbyterian, but as a new 
recruit from the world without. He did not, however, take this 
step until he had thoroughly studied the catechisms and Confes- 
sion of Faith, which constitute the doctrinal standards of that 
church. To sooie things embodied in these standards he strongly 
objected ; and these objections he stated with the utmost clear- 
ness and frankness, not only to the pastor but to several intelli- 
gent laymen of the church. His chief diDQculty was found in 
the great truth of God's absolute sovereignty, in His purposes 
regarding the calling and government of His church. His 
opinions, at that time, leaned strongly to the system known as 
Arminianism, nor were they immediately qhanged. Being 
informed, however, that the Presbyterian Church expected uni- 
formity of belief on these points, of none but its officers, and 
only exacted of its private members a profession of those vital 
doctrines of redemption, in which all Christians agree, he pre- 
ferred to adopt it as his own. Many months after, in conversa- 



HIS DIFFICULTIES SOLVED. 85 

tion with an intimate friend, lie disclosed so serious a difficulty 
in his views concerning the doctrines of God's decree and 
sovereign providence, that the latter concluded with the half- 
jocular remark, — " Major, if you have these opinions, you had 
better become a Methodist." This suggestion, the intense hon- 
esty of his nature made him take seriously ; and ho answered, 
"If you think so, then come with me, and let us see Dr. White 
about it." They went to the pastor's study, and had a long 
interview, as candid as it was kind. At the end of it the latter 
remarked, " Well, Major, although your doctrinal theory is not 
in perfect accord with ours, yet in your practical life you are so 
good a Presbyterian, that I think you may safely remain vfhere 
you are." In this conclusion he acquiesced ; and it was not very 
long before all his difficulties gave way before his honest, per- 
sistent, and prayerful inquiries. He became one of the firmest 
tlioudi least bigoted advocates of the Calvinistic as distinguished 
from the Arminia'n scheme. 

In these proceedings, his candid and eclectic spirit was char- 
acteristic, and honorable to himself, as well as a valuable testi- 
mony to the denomination which he selected. It would be hard 
to find a man reared in a Christian country, more uncommitted 
than he was, by education and association, to any sectarian 
preference. His conscientiousness would not permit him to 
decide the matter as so many do, by the accidents of social 
relations, convenience, or taste. He made his church connection 
the subject of deliberate comparison, serious study, and prayer ; 
and what Christian can justify himself for acting in any other 
way ? It may be assumed, therefore, that Jackson's conclusion 
was dispassionate, and that he believed it to be the result of the 
force of truth. To make this remark in an aggressive party 
spirit against other denominations which Jackson passed over, 
ill selecting the Presbyterian, would be most inconsistent with 



86 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

his liberal and just temper towards them all ; for lie was as 
catholic in his heart as he was decided in his principle. But to 
demand the suppression of this fact in his life would be yet 
more invidious on the other hand. That would be an extrava- 
gant temper indeed which would impose, in narrating the truth, 
a reserve which left upon Jackson's memor}'- the implication that 
he was either not honest, or not intelligent in his ecclesiastical 
opinions. It is hoped that Presbyterians will not be so foolish 
as to claim that all the good and great are of their communion, 
or to hold that its true honor depends upon man, however 
exalted he may be. 

It may be safely declared, that, from the beginning, Jack- 
son's religious character was strictly sincere, and conscien-irous, 
above that of most Christians. This was a trait to be expected 
from the operation of the Holy Spirit upon a nature so decided 
in temper and clear in judgment as his. But his opinions 
concerning Christian duties were not wliolly free from defect. 
It would have been wonderful indeed if they had been perfectly 
correct, when he Avas reared with so little instruction, and when 
his manhood had been moulded under the very peculiar moral 
influences of the military caste. But his exactness in perform- 
ing what he perceived to be his duty, was always the same ; 
some things which he afterwards saw to be obligatory, he had 
at first failed to see in this light. His aspirations for honor- 
able fame were at first less chastened than became a saint. 
His deliberately expressed feelings concerning the resenting of 
injuries, were inconsistent with those inculcated by the law 
of love, as understood by the best Christians. "While his con- 
viction of the sacredness .of the Sabbath was, from the begin- 
ning, unusually clear, his interpretation of the exceptions made 
for " works of necessity " differed somewhat from those current 
among evangelical Christians. But never was the healthy 



STRICTNESS OF CONSCIENCE. 87 

aDd cleansing influence of a right conscience over the under 
standing, more clearly displayed than in him. The head could 
not long remain misguided, when presided over by so guileless 
a heart. He very soon attained the most firm and distinct 
perceptions of duty, which differed usually from those of the 
great body of God's best people, only in being more strict. 
One of the most marked traits of his religious character then, 
was conscientiousness. It ruled in every act and word ; in. 
things great, and things minute ; in his social relations, and his 
most unrestrained remarks ; in the regulation of his appetites ; 
in his observance of the courtesies of life ; in the disposition of 
his time and money. Duty was with him the ever present and 
supreme sentiment. Such was his dread of its violation, that 
no sin appeared to him small ; and the distinction between great 
and little obligations, which most Christians make the pretext 
for a certain remissness of conduct, seemed scarcely to have any 
■place in his mind. To him, all duties were great, however 
trivial the affairs about which they were concerned, in human 
judgment. The prominent trait of his mind was the sentiment 
of reverence directed supremely to God, as the standard of 
perfection, the rightful source of all authority, and the embodi- 
ment of infinite greatness. It was this sentiment, in its lower 
aspects, which constituted his remarkable spirit of subordination. 
As God's nature and will were to him the standard of that 
which is right, and the fountain-head of obligation, so, whenever 
he found a fellow-creature clothed by the sanction of right, with 
legitimate authority over his conscience, he honored and obeyed 
him within his proper sphere, as a bearer of a delegated portion 
of the majesty of heaven; and his respect became a religious 
sentiment. Hence as a soldier no man was so prompt* and 
exact in his military obedience ; as a citizen none cherished so 
sacred a reverence for law, and for the offices of its magistrates. 



88 LIFE OP LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSON. 

As a Christian layman, he honored and obeyed the pastor who 
had care of souls ; and, while there was no man so little priest- 
ridden, there was none who so punctually paid to the ministers 
of religion, the captains in God's sacramental host, however 
liumble in person and talents, deference for their work's sake. 

Instances of his conscientiousness have already been given, 
but many others may be added. His convictions of the sin 
.committed by the Government of the United States, in the 
unnecessary transmission of mails, and the consequent imposition 
of secular labor on the Sabbath day, upon a multitude of per- 
sons, were singularly strong. His position was, that if no one 
would avail himself of these Sunday mails, save in cases of true 
and unavoidable necessity, the letters carried would be so few 
that the sinful custom would speedily be arrested, and the guilt 
and mischief prevented. Hence, he argued, that as every man 
is bound to do whatever is practicable and lawful for him to do, 
to prevent the commission of sin, he who posted or received" 
letters on the Sabbath day, or even sent a letter which would 
occupy that day in travelling, was responsible for a part of tho 
guilt. It was of no avail to reply to him, that this self-denial 
on the part of one Christian would not close a single post-office, 
nor arrest a single mail-coach in tlie whole country. His 
answer was, that unless some Christians would begin singly to 
practise their exact duty, and thus set the proper example, the 
reform would never be begun ; that his responsibility was to see 
to it tliat he, at least, was not particeps cr'iminis; and that 
whether others would co-operate, was their concern, not his. 
Hence, not only did he persistently refuse to visit the post-office 
on the Sabbath day, to leave or receive a letter, but lie would 
not post a letter on Saturday or Friday which, in regular course 
of transmission, must be travelling on Sunday, except in cases 
of high necessity. And believing, as he did, in the special 



VIEW OF SAEBATH MAILS. 89 

superintendence of Providcnco over all affairs, and His favor- 
able oversight of the concerns of those who live in His fear, he 
delighted to recount the fact, that God had always protected lilm 
and his affairs in this particular, so that he had never suffered 
any loss or real inconvenience by these self-imposed delays. 
One instance he related with peculiar satisfaction. It was, that 
proceeding on the Sabbath day to Divine worship with a Chris- 
tian associate, his friend proposed to apply at the post-office for 
his letters, on the plea that there was probably a letter from a 
dear relative, whose health was in a most critical state, and 
might, for aught ho knew, demand his immediate aid. But he 
dissuaded him by the argument, that the necessity for departing 
in this from the Sabbath rest, was not known, but only suspected. 
They went together to church, and enjoyed a peaceful day. On 
the morrow it was ascertained there was a letter to his friend, 
fj'om his afflicted relative, announcing a most alarming state of 
disease ; but there was also a later one, arrived that day, cor- 
recting all the grounds of distress, and stating that the health* 
of the sufferer was restored. " Now,'' said Jackson, '' had my 
friend causelessly dishonored the Sabbath, ho would have suf- 
fered a day of harrowing anxiety, which the next day's news 
.would have shown utterly groundless; but God rewarded him 
for his obedience, by mercifully shielding him from this gratuitous 
suffering: He sent him the antidote along with the pain." 

He always acted on the principle that he was as really bound 
to report the condition of himself and his family to his pastor, 
as the latter was to minister to their spiritual wants. In passing 
through several seasons of domestic sorrow, ho called for his 
instructions and sympathy with equal delicacy and promptitude. 
Again, he called one evening to say to Dr. White, that in the 
sermon preached the preceding Sabbath, he had not been able 
to discover whether the discussion of a certain duty, was to be 
12 



IK) LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

regarded in the light of mere advice, or as authoritative. If it 
•was the former, he was not clear that he should regard the duty 
as obligatory on him; but if the latter, then whatever his per- 
sonal preferences might be, he should feel bound to comply with 
it, inasmuch as he could not plead conscience against doing it. 
Thus his pastor was to him the spiritual officer, under whose 
"orders " be was, and whom he therefore felt bound to obey, in 
all his admissible commands, for the sake of the authority and 
discipline of the spiritual host. 

He engaged one day, with a Christian friend, in a conversa- 
tion on the Hebrews' system of religious oblations, and was 
much interested in the assertion that, while the tithe was no 
longer enjoined, by express precept, on God's people under the 
new dispensation, the usage of worshipping God with stated 
offerings of our substance was in no degree abrogated; and 
that the tenth was probably, in most cases, a suitable proportion 
to be self-imposed by Christians, for this voluntary thank-oifering. 
•After much inquiry and friendly discussion, Jackson closed the 
conversation. The next da}', on meeting his friend, he said that 
he had convinced him of a duty, not hitherto as fully understood 
as it should have been ; and, with his usual courtesy, thanked 
him for the benefit thus conferred. Tlienceforward he scrupu- 
lously gave a tenth of his whole income to charitable uses (until 
he adopted a greatly enlarged ratio). 

The Presbyterians and otlier evangelical churches in Virginia, 
have long had the usage of meeting about the middle of the 
week in a social assemblage, under the superintendence of the 
pastor, for the especial purposes of concerted prayer and praise. 
This custom has had the happiest ciTccts, in promoting devo- 
tional habits, and fraternity and sympathy, among the Christian 
people. Jackson was, of course, from the beginning, the most 
punctual of attendants on these meetings Tiie prayers were 



HE PRAYS IN PUBLIC. 91 

usually offered, under tlie pastor's direction, by the elders of 
the church, or other experienced Christians. Dr. White took 
occasion, in his Sabbath instructions, to enforce the advantages 
of these meetings, and said something of the duty of those who 
could appropriately lead the devotions of others, to render their 
aid in that way, overcoming, if necessary, false shame. In the 
course of the week, Jackson called to ask him if he thought him 
one of the persons to whom the latter exhortation was applica- 
ble. He proceeded to say that he was unused to all forms of 
continuous public speaking; that his embarrassment was ex- 
treme, especially upon so sacred a topic, in expressing himself 
before a crowd ; and that he had therefore doubted whether it 
was for edification for him to attempt the leading of others at 
the throne of grace. Yet, he knew that, inasmuch as these 
concerts of prayer were of eminent utility, the general duty of 
participating in their exercises was indisputable, as to Christian 
heads of families, and other suitable persons. " You," he said, 
'• are my pastor, and the spiritual guide of the church ; and if 
you think it my duty, then I shall waive my reluctance, and 
make the effort to lead in prayer, however painful," He closed 
by authorizing him to call upon him for that service, if he 
thought proper. And his diffidence in all this was so clearly 
unaffected, that no mortal could have mistaken it. After a 
time, the pastor called upon him to pray. He obeyed, but with 
an embarrassment so great, that the service was almost as 
painful to his brethren as it obviously was to himself. The 
invitation was not repeated for a number of weeks, when, 
meeting Dr. White, he noted that fact, and indicated that he 
supposed the motive for sparing him was an unwillingness to 
inflict distress through his excessive dijfidence. The .good 
minister could not but admit that he had thought it best not to 
exact so painful a duty of him, lest his comfort in the meeting 



92 LIFE OP LIEUT.-UEXECAL JACKSOX. 

should be seriously marred. "Yes/' said Jackson, "but my 
comfort or discomfort is not the question ; if it is my duty to 
lead my brethren in prayer, then I must persevere in it, until I 
learn to do it aright; and I wish you to discard all considera- 
tion for my feelings in the matter." He was again called on ; 
he succeeded in curbing his agitation in a good degree ; and, 
after a time, became as eminent for the gift, as he vas for the 
grace of prayer. 

Another instance of his courage in doing -good was given 
soon after he connected himself with the Presbyterian Clmrch. 
Visiting his native country during a vacation, he perceived that 
infidel opinions were prevalent among many, and had infected 
several of his friends and relatives. He was anxious to do 
something to remedy this evil, but knew not what was best. 
He held private conversations with some, and gave tracts to 
others, but this only increased his anxiety to attempt something 
on a larger scale. He accordingly determined to announce a 
brief course of public lectures on the evidences of Christianity, 
notwithstanding his dififidencn and inexperience as a public 
speaker. They were delivered in a clmrch in the village of 
Beverley, Randolph county, where his only sister resided ; and 
as liC declared, his success greatly exceeded his expectations. 
It may be supposed that curiosity to see the novel spectacle of 
the. young soldier and professor discussir.g such a theme, 
attracted many. But his argument was declared to be excellent, 
and his manner far from bad, by the most competent hearei'S. 
Doubtless the impression of his evident modesty, sincerity, and 
courage, was more valuable than would have been the most 
learned discussion from a professed divine. The interest 
aroused in his mind concerning the evidences of Christianity 
led him, on his return to Lexington, to ask of Dr. White leave 
to collect a class of young men for the study of this subject in 



SABBATH-SCHOOL FOR NEGROES. 93 

connexion with the Sabbath school. This class he taught with 
his accustomed earnestness and fidelity, and several of them 
served under him as soldiers in the war. 

He next proposed to gather the African slaves of the village 
in the afternoon of the Sabbath, and speedily he had a flourish- 
ing school of eighty or a hundred pupils, with twelve teachers; 
the latter of whom wore recruited from among the educated 
ladies and gentlemen of the place. This he continued to teach 
successfully from 1855 until the spring of 1861; when he 
reluctantly left it to enter the army. And to the end of his 
life, he inquired of every visitor at the camp from his church at 
home, how his black Sp,bbath-school was progressing; and if the 
answer was favorable, he did not fail to express his gratitude. 
But no other person could sustain it as efficiently as he did. 
His health required him to spend most of his vacations in 
journeys ; and, upon setting out, he was accustomed to leave his 
school in the charge of some member of the church, for the 
time. On his return, he usually found it dwindled from eightv 
to fifty scholars ; but his efforts soon restored it to its wonted 
prosperity. His method was to make the sessions extremely 
short, continuing from three P. M. to a quarter to four p. M. At 
a quarter to three the bell was rung, and precisely at three 
o'clock he began. The exercises were first, singing and prayer, 
and then a brief, pointed, and perspicuous exposition of an 
assigned passage of the Scriptures, addressed by him to the 
whole school. The several teachers then took charge of their 
classes, and devoted tlie rest cf the session to teaching them 
orally the Shorter Catechism, or some other suitable formula of 
truth. The exercises ended with the singing of a hymn, previ- 
ously committed to memory, by the whole school, and a short 
prayer. Once a month he made a report of the punctuality and 
demeanor of each pupil, calling in person at the houses of their 



94 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

masters for this purpose; aud if any servant was frequently 
absent or inattentive, he was sure to inquire into the cause 
during the week. 

The African character is ever dilatory. In his native jungle, 
the negro has no conception whatever of the value of time ; and 
in his civilized state, he retains too much of this weakness. 
Hence, at all religious meetings which they frequent, they are 
usually found arriving at every moment, froin the beginning to 
the very close. Jackson speedily began to experience tlie same 
annoyance, and the lack of punctuality was unhappily counte- 
nanced by some of his teachers. He gave notice that the bell 
would ring the next Sabbath a quarter of an hour before the 
opening as usual, and that when the assigned moment arrived, 
he should lock the doors and proceed immediately to the duties 
of the school. Accordingly, the next Sunday, precisely at three 
o'clock, he locked the doors and commenced. Knocks were 
unheeded; and when, at the conclusion, the doors were opened, 
there was found a group in the street, consisting of a number 
of servants and a few mortified-lookiug ladies and gentlemen, 
whom he saluted as he passed on his way with his customary 
politeness. There was no more lack of punctuality. 

While thus exacting in his discipline of the school, he was 
rendered extremely popular among all the more serious servants 
by these labors for their good. He was indeed the black man's 
friend. His prayers were so attractive to them, that a number 
of those living in his quarter of the town, petitioned to be 
admitted on Sabbath nights, along with his own servants, to his 
evening domestic worship. Before making them an answer, he 
called on Dr. White and stated their request to him, asking his 
sanction, and declaring that the assent of the masters of those 
servants must, of course, be also a necessary condition of his 



A CHRISTIAN MASTER. 95 

gratifying- them. The approbation of the pastor aud the 
masters was gladly given. 

To his own slaves, he was a methodical and exact, but con- 
scientious master. Absolute obedience was the rule of his 
household; and if he fomul chastisement was necessary to 
secure this, it was faithfully administered. He required all his 
slaves to attend the domestic worship of his family morning and 
evening ; and succeeded, where so many Christian masters have 
found entire success • apparently impossible, in securing the 
presence of every one. After his household was scattered' by 
his absence in the camp, he found time to write to those to whom 
his servants were hired, inquiring into their spiritual state, 
urging their employers to see that they attended church regu- 
larly, and giving minute directions for their welfare. On hear- 
ing of the death of one of his female servants, he wrote 
expressing his gratitude for the attentions bestowed upon her 
in her illness and at her biiria,!. 

It may be accepted as a significant dispensation of Provi- 
dence, that Jackson, the best typo of the Christian master in 
the South, should be made the hero of this war for Southern 
independence. The people of the Southern States will cheerfully 
consent that this holy man, with his strong convictions of the 
righteousness and beneficence of their form of society,' may stand 
forth to the world as their exemplar. He had no pretensions 
to a righteousness more righteous than that of prophets, apostles, 
and Jesus Christ. His understanding was too honest to profess 
belief in God's inspired Word, and yet hold that relation to be 
a sinful one, which Moses expressly allowed and legislated for ; 
which the Bible saints sustained to their fellow-men; which the 
Redeemer left prominenfand unrepealed amidst his churches, as 
well as in secular society ; and which the apostles continued to 
sanction, ])y admitting those who held it, without any disclaimer, 



96 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

or pledge of reformation or repentance, to cliiircli membership 
and cliurcli office. His conscience was too sensitive to tolerate 
known sin, at any prompting of conscience or interest. It will 
lie a difficult problem for those who revile us, if they remember 
iiow gregarious vices are, and how surely even a sin of ignorance 
pollutes the soul and grieves the Holy Spirit, to explain how 
this most decided of slaveholders came to be so eminent for 
sanctity, and so richly crowned with the noblest graces and joys 
which God ever conferred on man. Especially, let the happy 
condition which the benevolence of such masters confers on their 
servants, be contrasted with that degradation and ruin to which 
our enemies intentionally consign them. Southern masters, with 
very few exceptions, provide generously for the welfare of their 
servants,, at the prompting of affection, conscience, self-respect, 
and interest, Avhile they exact only a moderate labor ; and many 
of them, like Jackson, strive conscientiously for their spiritual 
good. Northern anti-slavery men, under the pretence to the 
negro of being his disinterested liberator, seduce him from his 
protector, and leave him, without provision for body or soul, 
cither to perish in pestilential indolence, or to wear out his 
frame in the severest toils, in entrenchments or factories, under 
the compulsion not of stripes, but of a bayonet in the hands of 
a brutal foreign mercenary. Not seldom does this hypocrisy 
find its candid and exact expression, in the conduct of the more 
shameless of our invaders ; w'hen the same men, after wheedling 
the servants with fine promises, pretended sympathies, and the 
terms "brother, sister," pass from their cabins to the master's 
dwelling, to insult him with the declaration that they despise the 
Africans as much as they hate him, and have no other purpo^• 
in seducing them from his service except to '•'humble his Vir- 
ginian aristocracy." 

On the 2Gtli of December. 1857, ]\raior Jackson was miaiii- 



JACKSON A DEACON. 97 

mously elected a deacon of his church. The reader will bear in 
mind that the Presb}i;erians, following what they believe to be 
the primitive institute of the Apostles, assign the care of souls 
to the order of Presbyters alone, of whom some rule only, and 
some also labor in word and doctrine ; while the Deacon's func- 
tion is "to serve tables," or, in other words, to collect and dis- 
burse the money and alms of the church, and to distribute to the 
destitute. This humble office Jackson promptly assumed at the 
call of his brethren, and fulfilled its duties with his accustomed 
fidelity. He was the best deacon the church had. The system 
of that congregation concerning almsgiving was imusually com- 
plete. Monthly, the deacons met for consultation, and the distri- 
bution of their labors. Every two • months, a collection was 
solicited from all the people for some charitable or pious use ; 
and for this purpose, to each deacon was allotted a district, in 
which he visited personally every adult worshipper, or at least 
every householder, at his own home, explained the object to be 
furthered, and received the gifts of the benevolent. At the 
monthly meetings, Jackson was always present. His idea of the 
duty was aptly expressed by his reply to a brother deacon, who 
excused his absence by saying that he had not time to attend. 
" I see not," said he, " how, at that hour, we can possibly lack 
time for this meeting, or can have time for anything else, seeing 
it is set apart for this business." His regularity in calling upon 
the pastor to relate the result of his diaconal labors, or, in his 
phrase, " to report," was perfectly military. Indeed his concep- 
tion of the matter was, that he came to him, as his superior, for his 
orders. At one collection the gifts were solicited for the Ameri- 
can Bible Society, and Jackson sallied forth, armed with the list 
of names for his district, furnished him by the clerk of the con- 
gregation. When he came to the pastor to report, he had a 
number of additional names written in pencil-marks at the foot 

13 



98 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENEUAL JACKSOX. 

of his list, wdtli small sums opposite to tlicm. " What arc these ?" 
asked the good Doctor. " Those at the top," said Jackson, " are 
your regulars, and those below arc my militia." On examining 
the names, they ■were found to be those of the free blacks of the 
quarters, all of whom he had visited in their hum])le dwelling- 
and encom^aged to give a pittance of their earnings to print 
Bibles. He argued that these small sums were better spent thus 
than in drink or tobacco ; that the giving of them would elevate 
their self-respect, and enliance tlieii' own interest in tho' Holy 
Book; and that they being indebted to it as well as others, 
«hould be taught to help in diffusing it. 

There was another trait of his religious character so conspi; 
uous, that it demands hero full illustration, — his constant recog- 
nition of a particular Providence. No man ever lived wlio 
seemed to have a more practical and living sense of this truth of 
Cln'istianity. He earned, indeed, thereby, the title of supersti- 
tious, from some of the untliinking, and of fatalist from others. 
But he was neither : his belief in the control of Divine Providence 
Avas most rational and scriptural. The only difference between 
him and other enlightened Cluistians here was, that his faith 
was "the substance of things anticipated, and the evidence of 
things not seen ; " while theirs is, so largeh^, an impractical 
theory. That doctrine is, that God's special providence is over 
all his creatures and all their actions, to uphold and govern 
them ; and that it is over His children for their good only. By 
that omniscient and almighty control all events are ordered, 
permitted, limited, and overruled. There is no creature so 
great as to resist its power, none so minute as to evade its 
care. But yet, by a mode which is perhaps beyond tlie cogni- 
zance of the human reason, it secures the action designed by 
God's intelligent purpose, from each created agent, in strict 
conformity with its nature and powers. The Christian doc- 



HIS BELIEF IX PROVIDENCE. 99 

trine of Providence does not reduce tlie universe into a pan- 
theistic machine, with God for the sole power and only real 
cause of "its every motion. It teaches that the property wliich 
creatures have of acting as second causes is real, that their 
powers are actual powers, inherent in them, and not merely 
seeming; conferred, indeed, by God, as Creator, and regulated 
in each specific action by his perpetual superintendence; yet, 
when conferred, intrinsic and efiicient m the created agents, 
whenever the suitable relations or conjunctions for their action 
have place. And especially when those creature-agents are ra- 
tional, voluntary spirits, does God by His providence order tSe 
rise of those free purposes in them, which his eternal plan 
includes, in strict conformity with their free agency. 

The doctrine of Fate is, that all events, including the acts of 
free agents, are fixed by an immanent physical necessity in the 
series of causes and efiects themselves ; a necessity as blind and 
unreasoning as the tendency of the stone towards the earth, 
when unsupported from beneath ; a necessity as much controll- 
ing the intelligence of God as of creatures; a necessity which 
admits of no modification of results through the agency of 
second causes, but renders them inoperative and passive as the 
mere stepping-stones in the inevitable progTession. The doc- 
trine of Providence teaches that the regular, natural agency of 
second causes is sustained, preserved, and regulated by the 
power and intelligence of God, and that, in and thi'ougli that 
agency, every event is directed by His most wise and holy will, 
at once according to his plans and to the laws of nature wliich 
He has ordained. Fatalism tends to apathy, to absolute inaction ; 
a belief in the Providence of the Scriptures, to intelligent and 
hopeful effort. It does not overthrow, but- rather establishes the 
agency of second causes; for it teaches that' God's method and 
rule of effectuating events only tln'ough them (save in the case 



100 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXEIUL JACKSON. 

of mii'aclcs), is as steadfast as His purpose to carry out Hia 
decree. Hence tins faith produces a combination of courageous 
serenity, with cheerful diligence in the use of means. Jackson 
■was as laborious as he "was trustful, and laborious precisely 
because he was trustful. Everytliing that preparation, care, 
forecast, and self-sacrificing toil could do to prepare and earn 
success he did. And therefore it was that God, without whom 
"the watchman wakcth but in vain," usually bestowed success. 
His belief in the superintendence of God was equal to his indus- 
try. In every blessing or calamity of private life, as well as in 
every order or despatch announcing a victory, he was prompt to 
ascribe the result to the Lord of Hosts; and these brief devout 
ascriptions were with him no unmeaning formalities. In the very 
flush of triumph he has been known to seize the juncture for the 
earnest inculcation of this truth upon the minds of his subordi- 
nates ; and, in the anxieties of great and critical moments, Ms 
soul drew composure and assurance from it. Especially did he 
love to recognize the hand of God in the results of strategy and 
battles. While the most pains-taking of commanders, he well 
knew that ua these gi'cat operations many things must be done 
beyond the oversiglit of the commander, each of which by the 
manner of its performance may absolutely determine the event. 
Hence when the issue was according to his prayers, he recog- 
nized the presence of an Eye more comprehensive than that of 
any creature, and ascribed all wisdom, power, and glory to it. 

His perpetual recurrence to this special providence was dis- 
played in his prayers for the divine guidance of his own judg- 
ment. It was well known that he was accustomed to seek this 
guidance not only in general terms, but most directly and par- 
ticularly on specific occasions. And the frequent answers which 
he seemed to receive to these prayers, suggested to the unreflect- 
ing the idea of his actual inspiration. 



DOCTRINE OF PEOVIDENCE. 101 

He would have modestly given an explanation less supersti- 
tious, and more scriptural. Mind has its natural laws as well as 
matter, to be learned in the same way, by correct induction from 
our observations ; and they are just as regular in their operation 
as those of the stars, the waters, or the vegetable world. For 
instance, conception follows conception in our thinking, by certain 
laws of suggestion, which we ascertain and know, at least to a 
good degree. By another law, the volition put forth upon a 
conception, in the act of spontaneous attention, tends to fix and 
brighten that conception before the mind, in preference to any 
other competing suggestion, just as regularly as sunlight pro- 
motes chemical action in matter. Now, the very doctrine of 
Providence is, that the God who conferred upon spiritual sub- 
stances these laws and powers of causation, as their inherent 
properties, regulates their action in strict consistency with their 
nature, with a constant superintendence. The mode may bp. 
inscrutable to us, even as all His workings in providence are ; 
but the fact is taught by the Scriptures and experience, and the 
consistency of it with our own reasonable and voluntary nature, 
as is assured to us by our consciousness. Now then, when God, 
in answer to prayer, leaving the mind to act strictly according to 
all its natural laws, yet gives such providential supervision to its 
functions, as to order that the judgment shall, of itself, come to a 
prosperous conclusion, why should men be more incredulous, or 
suppose a more supernatural interference, than when God 
answers the prayers of his people with "fruitful seasons, and 
rain from heaven," through the regular com-se of those meteoric 
laws, which before brought di'ought and blight? No devout 
reader of the Scriptures can refuse the conviction that Satan, as 
a personal agent^ has some mode consistent with the laws of 
mind, by which he often modifies the suggestions which arise, 
and thus the free determinations of the judgment and will. This 



102 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

fact assists us to establish, and in part illustrates, the contrasted 
fact of God's providential concern in the thoughts and purposes 
of the children of men. 

There "was at least one influence which Jackson's faith and 
liabits of prayer in this matter exercised upon his judgment, 
wliich may be made intelligible to every virtuous mind. It "svas 
the cause of an intense sincerity of motive. He who goes before 
the Searcher of hearts with petitions for His light and guidance, 
can scarcely cherish there those corrupt and double purposes 
which he Imows must be equally clear to His intelligence and 
hateful to His holiness. There is then, an obvious natural in- 
fluence which makes the very act of prayer as " the euphrasy 
and rue " to purge the mental vision. But faith teaches us that 
there is, moreover, a divine answer to prayer ; and in what form 
is the Christian's heart more familiar with this gracious power 
from above than in the purifying and chastenmg of its aflx3ctions ? 
Jackson was made by God's Spirit tlie most disinterested of 
men, in all his efforts to judge and act aright in His service. 
No collisions of guilty desu*e with conscience, no side-views of 
selfish ambition, no itcliings of avarice, no sensualit}-, no crav- 
ings for notoriety, no weakness of moral cowardice remained to 
distm'b or jostle the steady adjustments of his judgment. The 
functions of his understanding were actuated by one supreme 
emotion, the sentiment of duty ; a motive-power as pure as forci- 
ble, and hence they were almost perfectly correct and true, and 
at the same time full of intense vigor. His "eye was single, 
and his whole body was full of light" This is the best expla- 
nation which can be given of that almost infallible judgment in 
practical affairs, which he never failed to display, whenever he 
felt it Ids duty to examine and decide. And this refers his 
greatness primarily to his Chi'istianity ; a solution which Jackson 



EFFECT OF PEAYER. 103 

would have been himself most prompt to offer, if his modesty 
had permitted him to recognize greatness in himself 

Prayer implies a Providence. For if God hath not a present 
means of influencing the course of natural events, it is a waste 
of breath to petition for His intervention. Hence it will be 
anticipated, that he who was so clear in his rccog-nition of Prov- 
idence was also eminently a man of prayer. This was one of 
the most striking traits of Jackson's religious character. He 
prayed much, ho had great faith in prayer, and took much delight 
in it. While his religion was the least obtrusive of all men's, 
no one could know him and fail to be impressed with the regu- 
larity of his habits of private devotion. Morning and night he 
bent before God in secret prayer, and rare must be the exigency 
which could deprive him of this valued privilege. There was in 
him an unusual combination of courage and modesty in this duty. 
If the presence of others was unavoidable, it had no effect what- 
ever, be they who they might, however great or profane, to cause 
him to neglect his secret orisons. Yet, it is presumed, no one 
ever had the idea of ostentation suggested who witnessed one of 
the sacred scenes. He was accustomed, during the active cam- 
paigns, to live in a common tent, like those of the soldiers. 
Those who passed it at early dawn and at bed-time were likely 
to see the shadow of his kneeling form cast upon the canvas by 
the light of his candle ,* and the most careless soldier then trod 
lightly and held his breath with reverent awe. Those who were 
sceptical of the sincerity of other men's prayers, seemed to feel 
that, when Jackson knelt, the heavens came down indeed into 
commmiion with earth. 

This spirit of prayer was manifested by the change which it 
wrought in his whole manner. Everywhere else his speech was 
decided and curtj at the throne of grace all was different; his 
enunciation was soft and deliberate, and his tones mellow and 



104 LIFE OF LIFUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

supplicatory. Ilis prayers were marked at once by profound 
reverence and filial confidence, and abounded much in ascrip- 
tions of praise and thanks, and the breathings of devout affec- 
tions towards God. Besides his punctual observance of his 
private and domestic devotions, and of the weekly meetings for 
social prayer, he was accustomed to select from time to time 
some one Christian, with whom he held stated seasons of devo- 
tion, in order to avail himself of the promise, " that if two of 
you shall agree on earth, as touching anything that they shall 
ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven." 
And his partners in these fellowships were selected, not so much 
for their social as for tlieir spiritual attractions. This narrative 
would be unjust to the truth, and to the memory of one of God's 
most honored servants, if it omitted the mention of the chief 
instrument for cultivating in liiin this spirit of prayer. When 
Major Jackson became a mcuil)cr of the congregation in Lex- 
ington, there was among its presbyters a man of God, whoso 
memory yet smells sweet and blossoms in the dust, John B. 
Lylc. He was a bachelor, of middle age, well connected, but 
of limited fortune, who devoted nearly the whole of his leisure 
to the spiritual interests of his charge. He was constantly the 
friend of the afflicted, the restorer of the wayward, the counsel- 
lor of the doubting, a true shepherd of the sheep ; and his inner 
Christian life wAs as elevated as his outward was active. To 
him Jackson early learned to resort for counsel; for his spiritual 
state was not, at first, marked by that established comfort and 
assurance which shed such a sunshine over his latter years. 
He confessed to Mr. Lylc great spiritual anxieties, and seasons 
of darkness. The good man taught him that connexion between 
hearty obedience and access to the throne of grace, which is 
declared by the Psalmist when he says : " If I regard iniquity 
in ray heart, the Lord will not hear me." It was largely due to 



JACKSON NO INDEPENDENT. * 105 

his guidance, that Jackson attained to that thoroughness which 
marked all his subsequent Christian life. Henceforward, like 
Joshua and Caleb, "he had another spirit with him, and followed 
the Loixl fully." His pious counsellor taught him by his exam- 
ple, by his instructions, and by suitable reading which he placed 
in his hands, to cherish a high value of prayer, and to expect, 
according to the scriptural warrant, a certain answer to it. 

This prayerfulness was a profound inward spirit yet more 
than it was an outward manifestation. How he compelled His 
own diffidence to pray with others, under a sense of duty, has 
been described. But he was never forward to assume the lead 
of others at the throne of grace, where his station did not 
obviously make it proper. It has been said of him, that he was 
as often found leading his men in the prayer-meeting as in the 
field of battle ; and those who knew not whereof they affirmed, 
have loved to represent him as a sort of Puritan Independent, 
of the school of Cromwell, Harrison, and Pride, assuming the 
functions of a preacher among his troops. No Christian could 
possibly be further from all such intrusions, both in principle and 
in temper. When called on by proper authority to lead his 
brethren in social prayer, he always obeyed. But he loved best 
to mingle with his rough and hardy soldiers, in the worship of 
God, as a simple lay-worshipper; with them to sit in the seat 
of the learner, with them to sing, with them to kneel, and with 
them to gather around the Lord's table. He would not pro- 
nounce the blessing over the plain food of "his own mess-table, 
if a clergyman, or even an older Christian than himself, were 
present to do it. His whole nature and convictions were pene- 
trated by a reverence for all constituted authority, and for right 
order in Church and State ; the license of Independency was at 
least as opposed to his tastes as the restrictions of Prelacy. 

It was in the secret communings of his heart that this spirit of 

14 



106 . .A'K OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

prayer was most prevalent. Devotion "^vas tlie very breath of 
Ills soul. (3nce only was lie led to make a revelation of these 
constant aspirations, to a Christian associate peculiarly near to 
him; aiid his description of his intercourse with God was too 
beautiful and characteristic to be suppressed. This friend ex- 
pressed to him some embarrassment in comprehending literally 
the precept to " pray always," and to " pray without ceasing," 
and asked his help in construing it. He replied that obedience 
ought not to be impracticable for the child of God. " But how," 
said the other, " can one be always praying ? " lie answered, 
that if it might be permitted to him, without suspicion of religious 
display, he vrould explain by describing his oyvn habits. He 
then proceeded, with several parentheses, deprecating earnestly 
the charge of egotism, to say that, besides the stated daily 
seasons of secret and social prayer, he had long cultivated the 
habit of connecting the most trivial and customary acts of life 
with a silent prayer. "When we take our meals," said he, 
" there is the grace. When I take a draught of water, I always 
pause, as my palate receives the refreshment, to lift up my heart 
to God m thanks and prayer for the water of life. AVhenever I 
drop a letter into the box at the post-office, I send a petition 
along with it, for God's blessing upon its mission and upon the 
person to whom it is sent. When I break the seal of a letter 
just received, I stop to pray to God that He may prepare me 
for its contents, and make it a messenger of good. When I go 
to my class-room, and await the arrangement of the cadets in 
tlieir places, that is my time to intercede with God for them. 
And so of every other familiar act of tlie day." " But," said his 
friend, " do you not often forget these seasons, coming so 
frequently ? " " No," said he, " I have made the practice habitual 
to me ; and I can no more forget it, than forget to drink when I 



HE PRIZED CHRISTIAjST INTERCESSION. 107 

am thirsty." He added that the usage had become as delightful 
to him as it was regular. 

lie had a higher and more uuaifected sense of the value of the 
prayers of other Christians than of his own. To one who did 
not know how abhorrent all cant and pretence were to the sin- 
cerity and trutlifulness of his nature, the frequent assertions of 
this feeling in his letters would almost appear as unmeaning 
verbiage. He never seemed to let slip an opportunity to urge 
Christians to prayer, for the Church and for their country. Here 
are examples, which only express his habitual language and spirit. 
Writing to a near Clu-istian connexion, he says.: — 

"My DEAR Sister, — Do not forget to remeniber me in prayer. 
To the prayers of God's people I look with more interest than 
to our military strength. In answer to them, God has greatly 
Ijlessed us thus far, and we may sanguinely expect him to con- 
tinue to do so, if we and all His people but continue to do our 
duty." 

He usually concluded his letters to his pastor during his cam- 
paigns, thus : — 

"And now, present me affectionately to all my friends and 
brethren, and say to them, the greatest kindness they can show 
me is to pray for me." 

When he had completed the series of brilliant victories in the 
Valley of Virginia, having utterly routed five Federal generals 
ri quick succession, he entered upon a forced march of more than 
a hundred miles, to join the armies below Richmond. When 
about half of this march was completed, he stopped to rest his 
army durhig the Sabbath; and one use which he made of the 
respite was to write to his pastor upon two subjects. One was 
the supply of chaplains for the armyj and the other may be 
stated in his own words : — 

" I am afraid that our people are looking to the wrong source 



108 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

for help, and . ascribing our successes to those to whom they arc 
not due. If we fail to trust in God, and to give Him all tlie 
glory, our cause is ruined. Give to our friends at home due 
warning on this subject." 

To another friend he wrote, Dec. 5, 18G2 (eight days before 
the great battle of Fredericksburg) : — 

"Whilst we were near Winchester, it pleased our ever-merciful 
Heavenly Father to visit my command with the rich outpouring 
of His Spu'it. There were probably more than one hundred 
inquiring the way of life in my old brigade. It appears to me 
that we may look for growing piety and many conversions in the 
army ; for it is the subject of prayer. If so many prayers were 
offered for the blessing of God upon any other organization, 
would we not .expect the Answerer of prayer to hear the peti- 
tions, and send a blessing?" 

And again, January 1, 18G3 : — 

" My dear Friend, — Your last letter came safe to hand, and 
I am much gi-atified to see that your prayer-meeting for the 
army is still continued. Dr. White writes that in Lexington 
they continue to meet every Wednesday afternoon for the same 
purpose. I have more confidence in such organizations than in 
military ones as the means of an early peace, though both arc 
necessary." 

In the autumn of 18G1, after the first battle of Manassas, his 
pastor, with another venerable minister, visited his brigade at 
his invitation, to preach to his soldiers, and to lodge in his quar- 
ters. They arrived at nightfall, and found the Commander-in- 
Chief on the spot, communicating in person some important 
orders. General Jackson merely paused to give them the most 
hurried salutation consistent with respect, and without a mo- 
ment's dallying passed on to execute his duties. After a length 
of time he returned, all the work of the evening completed, and 



HIS PRAYER FOR HiS PASTOR. 109 

reuewecl his welcome with a beaming face, and warm abandon of 
manner, heaping upon them affectionate attentions, and inquii^mg 
after all their households. Dr. White spent five days and nights 
with him, preaching daily. In the General's quarters, he found 
his morning and evening worship as regularly held as it had 
been at home. Jackson modestly proposed to his pastor to lead 
in this worship, which ho did until the last evening of his stay ; 
when, to the usual request for prayers, he answered, " General, 
you have often prayed with and for me at home, be so Mud as 
to do so to-night." Without a word of objection, Jackson took the 
sacred volume, and read and prayed. "And never while life lasts," 
said the pastor, " can I forget that prayer. He thanked God for 
sendmg me to visit the army, and prayed that He would own 
and bless my ministrations, both to officers and privates, so that 
many souls might be saved. He gave thanks for what it had 
pleased God to do for the church in Lexington, ^ to which both 
of us belong,' especially for the revivals He had mercifully 
granted to that church, and for the many preachers, of the gospel 
sent forth from its membership. He then prayed for the pastor, 
and every member of his family, for the ruling elders, the dea- 
cons, and the private members of the church, such as were at 
home, and especially such as then belonged to the army. He 
then pleaded with such tenderness and fervor, that God would 
baptize the whole army with His Holy Spirit, that my own hard 
heart was melted into penitence, gratitude, and praise. When 
we had risen from our knees, he stood before his camp fire, with 
that calm dignity of mien and tender expression of countenance 
for which he was so remarkable, and said, ' Doctor, I would be 
glad to learn more fully than I have yet done, what yoiu: views 
are of the prayer of faith.' A conversation then commenced, 
which was contmued long after the hour of midnight, in which, 'it 



110 LIPJE, OP • LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

is caiiclidl}^ confessecl, llic pastor received more iiistmctiou tlian 
lie imparted." 

But perhaps the most impressive exhibition of his pray.erfid 
spirit was that which was sometimes witnessed on the fiekl of 
battle. More than once, as one of his fa'^'oritc brigades was 
passing into action, he had been noticed sitting motionless upon 
liis horse, with his right hand uplifted, while the war-worn 
column swept, in stern silence, close by his side, into the storm 
of shot. For a time, it seemed doubtful whether it was mere 
abstraction of thought, or. a posture to relieve his fatigue. But 
at length those who looked more narroAvly were convinced by 
his closed eyes and moving lips, that lie was wrestlmg in silent 
prayer for them ! His fervent soul doubtless swelled with the 
solemn thoughts of his own responsibility and his country's 
crisis, of the precious blood he was compelled to put in jeopardy, 
and the souls passing, perhaps unprepared, to their everlasting 
doom; and of the orphanage and widowhood wliich was about 
to ensue. Recognizing the sovereignty of the Lord of Hosts, he 
interceded for his veterans, that 'Hhc Almighty would cover them 
with his feathers, and that his truth might be their shield and 
buckler." The moral grandeur of this scene was akin to that 
when Moses, upon the Mount of God, lifted up his hands while 
Israel prevailed against Amalek. 

The Christian reader will easily comprehend that one so con- 
scientious, and believing, and devout, was a happy man. He 
had, wiiile in Lexington, his domestic bereavements, and he felt 
them as every man of sensibility must ; but the consolations of 
the gospel abounded in him at those seasons. His habitual 
frame was a calm sunshine. He was never desponding, and 
never frivolous. It is manifest, that in all the later years of liis 
I'eligious life, his soul dwelt continually in the blessed assurance of 
his acceptance through the Redeemer j and this steady spii'itual 



^IS SPIRITUAL JOY. Ill 

joy purified and elevated all his earthly affections. It is the 
testimony of his pastor, that he was the happiest man he ever 
knew. The assurance that "all things work together for good to 
them that love God, to them who are the called according to his 
purpose," was, to him, a living reality. It robbed suffering of 
all its bitterness, and transmuted trials into blessings. To his 
most intimate Clu-istian associate, he was one day expressing his 
surprise that this class of promises did not yield to other. CMs- 
tians a more solid peace. The suggestion aro'se in the mind of 
his friend hereupon to try the extent of his own faith, with the 
question, whether the trust in God's love, and purposes of mercy 
to his own soul, would be sufficient to confer on him abiding 
happiness under the privation of all earthly good. lie answered, 
"Yes; he was confident that he was reconciled and adopted 
through the work of Christ; and that therefoi-e, inasmuch as 
every event was disposed by omniscience guided by redeeming 
love for him, seeming evils must be real blessings ; and that it 
was not in the power of any earthly calamity to overthrow his 
happiness." His friend knew his anxious care of his health, and 
asked, " Suppose, ^lajor, that you should lose your health irre- 
parably, do you tliink you could be happy then ? " He answered, 
"Yes; I should be happy still." His almost morbid fear of 
blindness was remembered, and the question was asked: "But 
• suppose, in addition to cln'onic ilhiess, you should incur the total 
loss of your eyesight; would not that be too much for you?" 
He answered firmly, "No." His dislike of dependence was 
excessive ; he was therefore asked once more : " Suppose that, in 
addition to ruined health, and total blindness, you should lose all 
your property, and be left thus, incapable of any useful occupa- 
tion, a wreck, to linger on a sick-bed, dependent on the charities 
of those who had no tie to you, would not this bo too much for 
your faith ?" He pondered a moment, and then answered in a 



112 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

reverent tone: "If it were the will of God to place me there, 
He would enable me to lie there peacefully a hundred years." 

Such was the man, as he appeared to those who knew him best. 
The attempt has been made to enable the reader to see his 
Christian character just as it manifested itself, without conceal* 
iijg, abating, or exaggerating any traits. Some of these will be 
pronounced by many to be singular, and some, perhaps, little 
worthy of applause or imitation ; for, among those who observed 
it for themselves, there were not a few who regarded Ms con- 
science about little things as over-scrupulous, if not morbid. 
And some affected to regard him as a sincere, odd, weak man, 
to be admired for his honesty, but for little else. "Whether his 
pj^rticularity concerning . what have been called " the minor 
morals," was unreasonable, or whether it was but the rectitude 
which the Saviour inculcates, when He says, " He that is faithful 
in that which is least, is faithftil also in much," may be left to 
each Christian to decide for himself, with the remark, that this 
strictness in little duties was attended with most noble fruits in 
the -graver concerns of his life, and that God crowned this relig- 
ious character, such as it was. with peculiar honor. In view of 
these facts, it is hoped there will be many to join in the prayer, 
that, if Jackson's was a morbid conscience, all Chi-istians may be 
infected with the same disease. 

He has been often compared to Cromwell and to Havelock, 
but without justice in either case. The latter he certainly 
resembled in energy, in directness, in bravery, and in the vigor 
of his faith; but his spu-itual character was far more sjinmetrical, 
mellow, and noble. His ambition was more thoroughly chastened. 
He had risen to a calm and holy superiority to all the glitter of 
military glory, to which Havelock never attained. Had Jackson 
reared sons to succeed to his name, he would never, like him, 
have directed them to the bustling pursuits of orms in ju'cfercnce 



COMPARISONS. ^ 113 

to the sacred office of the gospel ministry. Ho Tvould have said 
that, if his sons were clearly called by the providence of God to 
fight, and even to die, for the necessary defence of their country, 
then he should desire to see them brave soldiers ; but that other- 
wise, his warmest wish for them would be, that they might share 
the honor of winning souls, the calling which he most coveted for 
himself Nor had he, either in manners or character, any of that 
abnormal vivacity which made Haveiock as peculiar as he was 
great. The field on which his military genius was displayed, 
and the armies he wielded, were so large compared with those 
of the British captain, that a comparison on this point would be 
equally difficult and unfair. 

To liken Jackson to Cromwell is far more incorrect. Witli 
all the genius, both military and civic, and all the iron will of the 
Lord Protector, he had a moral and spiritual character so much 
more noble that they cannot be named together. In place of 
harboring Cromwell's selfish ambition, which, under the veil of a 
religiousness that perhaps concealed it from himself, gi"cw to the 
end, and fixed the foulest stain upon his memory, Jackson 
crucified the not ignoble thirst for glory which animated his 
youth, until his abnegation of self became as pure and magnani- 
mous as that of Washington. Cromwell's religion was essen- 
tially fanatical ; and, until it was chilled by an influence as malign 
as fanaticism itself — the lust of power, it was disorganizing. 
Every fibre of Jackson's being, as formed by nature and 
grace alike, was antagonistic to fanaticism and .radicalism. 
He believed indeed in the glorious doctrines of providence 
and redemption, with an appropriating faith; he believed in 
his own spiritual life and communion with God tlu-ough Hia 
grace, and lived upon the Scripture promises ; but he would 
never have mistaken the heated impulses of excitement for 
the inspirations of the Holy Ghost, to be asserted even beyond 

15 



114 LIFE ;0P LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

and against His own revealed word; nor would he have evor 
presumed on such a profane interpretation of Ilis secret wil]. 
as to conclude that the victory of Dunbar was sufficient proof, 
without the teachings of scriptural principles of duty, of the 
righteousness of the invasion of Scotland. There was never, 
in Jackson's piety, a particle of that false heat which could 
prompt a wish to intrude into clerical functions. Every in- 
stinct of his soul approved the beauty of a regular and right- 
eous order. His religion was of the type of Hampden, rather 
than of the Independent. Especially was his character unlike 
Cromweirs, in its freedom from cant ; his correct taste abhorred 
it. Sincerity was his grand characteristic. With him profes- 
sion always came short of the reality; he was incapable of 
affecting what he did not feel ; and it would have been for him 
an impossibility to use speech with the diplomatic art of con- 
cealing, instead of expressing, his true intent. His action, like 
Cromwell's, was always vigorous, and at tlic call of justice could 
be rigid. But his career could never have been marked by a 
massacre like that of Drogheda, or an execution like that of the 
King. The immeasurable superiority of his spiritual life over 
that of Cromwell; may be justly illustrated by the contrast be- 
tween their last days. The approach of death found Cromwell's 
religion corrupted by power and riches, his faith tottering, his 
communion with God interrupted, his comfort overclouded ; and 
at last he faced the final struggle with no better support for his 
soul tlian a miserable perversion of the doctrine of the perse- 
verance of the saints, by which he claimed the comfort of a 
former assurance, long since forfeited by backslidings. But the 
piety of Jackson continually repaii'cd its benignant beams at 
the fountain of divine light and purity, becoming brighter and 
brighter unto the perfect day. His nature grew more unselfish. 
his aims more noble, his sph'it more heavenly ; while his eager 



HIS EUROPEAN TOUR. ' 115 

feet ran "with ever hastening speed and joy in the way of godli- 
ness to its close. And his end, sustained by the peaceful tri- 
umphs of faith, was rather a translation than a death. 

This portraiture of Jackson's character will be concluded with 
some notice of his domestic life in Lexington. Thus the foliage 
will be added to the crown of the column, lest the reader should 
err by assigning to it a Doric severity. After two years' resi- 
dence at the Military Academy, he was married to Eleanor 
Junkin, the daughter of the president of the adjoining college, 
on August' 4th, 1853. The memorials of his short connexion 
with this accomplished lady are scanty; but enough is known 
to show that he was a tender husband. After fourteen months 
of married life he lost her by death; and the bereavement 
was peculiarly harrowing, because it came without warning, 
and just as he hoped the circle of his domestic joys was to 
be completed instead of ruptured. It is related that his grief 
was so pungent, as not only to distress, but seriously to alarm 
his friends. Yet even then he was most anxious not to sin by- 
questioning in his heart the wisdom and rectitude of God's deal- 
ings with him. Ilis endeavors after self-control were strenuous, 
and he never for a moment lost the dignity of the Clu-istian in 
his grief But for a long time his taste for secular occupations 
and pleasures was lost, and his only aspirations pointed to the 
other world. During this season of discipline his health suffered 
seriously, and his friends induced him, in the summer of 1856, to 
make a European tour, in the hope that the spell might be 
broken which bound him in sadness. He visited England, 
Belgium, France, and Switzerland, spending about four months 
among the venerable architectural remains, and mountain scenery 
of those countries. This journey was the source of high enjoy- 
ment to him. But the opposition of his nature to all egotism 
was as strikingly shown here as elsewhere; he was no more 



116 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

inclined to speak of Lis travels tliau of Lis exploits. It was only 
at rare times, when with some intimate friend who could ap- 
preciate his sentiments, that he lamiched out, and related with 
enthusiasm his delight in the grandeur of the mediaeval temples 
and the Alps; of York Minster and Mont Blanc. He returned 
from this holiday with animal spirits and health completely 
renovated. Although he resorted no more to society, he re- 
sumed his scientific occupations with zest, and his religious life 
agam became as sunny and cheerful as was his wont. A little 
incident attending his arrival at home illustrates the temper of 
the man. The full session of the military school had begun, at 
which time he had promised to return. His classes were await- 
ing him ; 'week after week passed, and everybody wondered that 
the exact Major Jackson had not returned to his post. At 
length he reached Lexingion unexpectedly ; and his first act was 
to visit the family of his deceased wife. After the first joyful 
greetings and explanations of his delay, a sister exclaimed: 
" But, Major, have you not been miserable, have you not been 
perfectly wretched since the beginning of the month ? " " Why, 
no!" said he, with amazement; "why should I be?" "You 
know," she replied, " that you are so dreadfully punctual, and as 
the session had begun, and the time you promised to return had 
passed, we just supposed you were beside yourself with impa- 
tience." "By no mcansj" he replied; "I had set out to retui-n 
at the proper time; I had done my duty; the steamer was 
delayed by the act of Providence ; and I was perfectly satisfied." 
He was married again, on July 15th, 1857, to Mary Anna 
Morrison, the daughter of Dr. R. H. Morrison, an eminent 
Presbyterian divine of North Carolma, and niece of the Honora- 
ble William Graham. This lady, with one living daughter, born 
in November 18G2, survives him. Another infant, born in the 
early years of this marriage, was cut off at the age of a month. 



DOaiESTIC AFFECTIONS. 117 

In no man were the domestic affections ever more tender and 
noble. He who only saw the stern self-denying soldier in his 
quarters, amidst the details of the commander's duties, or on the 
field of battle, could scarcely comprehend- the gentle sweetness 
of his home life. There the cloud which, to his enemies, was 
only night and tempest, displayed nothing but the " silver lining" 
of the sunlight upon its reverse ; and that light came chiefly from 
the Sun of righteousness. He was intensely fond of his home, 
where all his happiness and every recreation centred. As his 
foot crossed its threshold, care lifted itself from Ids brow, his 
presence brought cheerfulness, and, by his example of childlike 
gaiety, he allured its inmates to every innocent enjoyment. His 
tongue, elsewhere so guarded in its speech, seemed to luxuriate 
in a plaj'ful variety of terms of endearment borrowed often from 
the Spanish, which he always said was richer and more expres- 
sive in these phrases than the English ; and in these he loved to 
address, and be addressed by the members of Ms family. In his 
household, the law of love reigned ; his own happy pattern was 
the cliief stimulus to duty ; and his sternest rebuke, when he 
beheld any recession from gentleness or propriety, was to say, 
half tenderly, half sadly : " Ali, that is not the way to be haj^py 1" 

It was in his own house, also, that the social aspects of his 
character shone forth most pleasingly to his acquaintances. 
Although the most miostentatious of men in Ms mode of living, 
he was generous and hospitable. Nowhere else was he so uncon- 
strained and easy, as with the guests at his own table. A short 
time after his second marriage, he wrote thus to a near friend : — 

"We are still at the hotel, but expect, on the 1st of January, 

to remove to Mr. 's house as boarders. I hope that in 

the course of time we shall be able to call some house our home ; 
where we may have the pleasure of receiving a long visit from 
you I shall never be content until I am at the head of an 



118 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

cstablislimcut in which my friends can feel at home in Lexington. 
I liavc taken the first important step by secui'iug a wife capable 
of making a happy home. And the next thing is to give her an 
opportunity." 

Before very long these purposes were realized ; he was settled 
in liis own house, where he delighted to entertain his select 
friends with unpretending but substantial comfort. An instance 
of his considerate kmdness will show his character better than 
many words. One of his friends, having occasion to take liis 
little daugliter of four years upon a considerable journey without 
the attendance of its mother, called on the way to spend the 
night with Major Jackson. At bed-time, he proposed that Mrs. 
Jackson should take charge of the little one for the night ; but 
the father replied that she would not be contented with a com- 
parative stranger, and would give least trouble if he kept her in 
his own bosom. At a dead hour of the night, he was awakened 
hy a gentle step in the room, and a hand upon his bed. It was 
Jackson, tenderly adjusting the bed-clothes around the infant's 
face ; and when the father spoke, he replied that, Imowing she 
was accustomed to a mother's watclifulness, he had lain awake 
thinking of the danger of her becoming uncovered and catching 
a cold ; and had thought it best to come to his chamber and see 
that all was safe. This was also the mighty hand which guided 
the thunders of war at Sharpsburg and Chancellors\'ille ! 

Upon becoming the proprietor of a house with a garden, and 
soon afterwards of a farm of a few acres, his rural tastes revived 
in full force. He devoted his hours of recreation to gardening 
with his own hands, and was, from the first, very successful. 
Indeed, tlie ability of his mind displayed itself, as in "Washmgtou, 
by the practical skill Avith wliicli he handled everything Avhicli 
clauned his attention. Ilis vegetables were the earliest and 
finest of the neighborhood. His stable and daiiy were stocked 



REGULAEITY OF LIFE. 119 

■well and cared for iu the best possible manner. His little 
farm of rocky hill-laud was soon perfectly enclosed and tilled, 
and became a fruitful field. He used to say that the bread 
grown there, by the labor of himself and his slaves, tasted 
sweeter than that Avhich was bought. Although he seemed to 
be absolutely indifferent to wealth, and gave from his modest 
means with an ungrudging hand, yet they grew under his energy 
and practical sense, as it were in spite of his generous profusion. 
The chief cause which he would have assigned for this prosper- 
ity, was the blessing of Him who declares that " the liberal soul 
shall be made fat." The secondary causes, which his neighbors 
assigned, were the moderation of his own habits, and the sound- 
ness of his judgment, which never admitted a mistake or a 
useless waste. 

His life here was so methodical, that its picture may be taken 
from that of one day. He always rose at dawn ; and his first 
occupation was secret prayer, followed, if the weather permitted, 
by a solitary walk. His family prayers were held at seven 
o'clock, summer and winter, and all his domestics were rigidly 
required to be present. But the absence of no one was allowed 
to delay the service. Breakfast then followed, and he went to 
his class-room at eight o'clock. Here he was usually engaged 
in instruction until eleven o'clock, when he returned to his 
study. The first book which engaged his attention was the 
Bible, which was not merely read, but studied as a daily lesson. 
The time until dinner was then devoted to his text-books. Be- 
tween that meal and supper, the interval was occupied by his 
garden, his farm, or the duties of the church. The evening was 
devoted first to the mental review of the studies of the day, 
made without book, and then to literary reading or conversa- 
tion, until ten o'clock, p. m., when he retired. He never chose 
works of fiction, but the classic historians and poets of the 



120 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

English tongue; but tliis avoidance of works of mere fancy was 
from principle, not from indifference. If lie was once entrapped 
into an interest in their narrative, he betrayed all the keenness 
of the veteran novel-reader ; and only restrained it from a sense 
of the duty of husbanding his time. As the weakness of his 
eyes forbade the use of them at night, these readings for recrea- 
tion were usually by some member of the family, while he sat 
an interested listener and critic. And such was the tenacity of 
his memory, that what was thus acquired was never pai'ted 
with. 

But the best conception of his domestic character will be 
gained from his own words ; and, to enable the reader to form 
this, a few extracts will be given from his correspondence with 
his wife, so selected as to disclose his interior life, but not to 
violate the proprieties of a sacred relationship. 

A2)ril ISth, 1857, upon hearing of the painful death of the 
son of a friend, greatly lamented by his parents, he says : — "I 

wi-ote to Mr. and Mrs. a few days since ; and my prayer 

is that this heavy affliction may be sanctified to them. I was 
not surprised that little M. was taken away, as I have long 
regarded his father's attachment to him as too strong; that is, 
so strong that he would be unwilling to give him up, though God 
should call for His own. I am not one of those who believe 
that an attachment ever is, or can be absolutely too strong for 
any object of our affections ; but oiu* love for God may not be 
strong enough. We may not love Him so intensely as to have 
no will but His." 

"Ajpril 25th, 1857. — It is a great comfort to me to know, 
that though I am not with you, yet you are in the hands of One 
who will not permit any evil to come nigh to you. What a 
consoling thought it is, to know that we may, with perfect 
confidence, commit all our friends in Jesus to the care of our 



CORRESPONDENCE. 121 

Heavenly Father, with an assurance that all shall be weU. with 
them." 

''I have been sorely disappointed at not hearing from you 
this morniag ; but these disappointments are all designed for our 
good. In my daily walks I think much of you. I love to stroll 
abroad after the labors of the day are over, and indulge' feelings 
of gratitude to God for all the sources of natural beauty with 
which He has adorned the earth. Some time since my morning 
walks were rendered very delightful by the smging of the bu'ds. 
The morning carolling of the bii'ds, and their notes in the even- 
ing, awaken in me devotional feelings of praise and gratitude, 
though very different in their nature. Li the morning, all ani- 
mated nature (man excepted) appears to joiu in active expres- 
sions of gratitude to God; in the evening, all is hushing into 
silent slumber, and thus disposes the mmd to meditation. And 
as my mind dwells on you, I love to give it a devotional turn, by 
thinking of you as a gift from our Heavenly Father. How de- 
lightful it is, thus to associate every pleasure and enjoyment with 
God the Giver! Thus will he bless us, and make us grow in 
grace, and in the knowledge of Him, whom to laiow aright is 
life eternal." 

''May Ith, 185 7. — I wish I could be with you to-morrow at 
your communion [the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper]. Though 
absent in body, yet in spirit I shall be present, and my prayer 
will be for your growth in every Christian grace." 

" I take special pleasure in the part of my prayers, in which I 
beg that every temporal and spu-itual blessing may be yours, and 
that the glory of God may be the controllnig and absorbing 
thought of our lives in our new relation. It is to me a great 
satisfaction, to feel that God has so manifestly ordered our 
union. I believe, and am persuaded, that if we but walk in 
His .commandments, acknowledging Him. in all our ways, He 



122 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXEEAL JACKSON. 

will shower His blessings upon us. IIow dcliglitful it is, to feel 
that we have such a Friend, who changes not! I love to see and 
contemplate Ilim m everything. The Christian's recognition of 
God in all His works, greatly enhances liis enjoyment." 

'^ May l(jih, 1857. — There is something very pleasant in the 
thought of your mailing me a letter every Monday, and such 
manifestation of regard for the Sabbath must be 'well-pleasing 
in the sight of God.' that all our people would manifest 
such a regard for Ilis holy day ! If we would all strictly observe 
all Ilis holy laws, what would not our country be ? 

" When in prayer for you last Sabbath, the tears came to my 
eyes, and I realized an unusual degree of emotional tenderness. 
I have not yet fully analyzed my feelings to my satisfaction, so 
as to arrive at the cause of such emotions, but I am disposed to 
think that it consisted in the idea of the intimate relation exist- 
ing between you, as the object of my tender affection, and God, 
to whom I looked up as my Heavenly Father. I felt that day as 
though it were a communion-day for myself." 

"June 20th, 1857. — I never remember to have felt so toivili- 
ingly as last Sabbath, the pleasure springing from the thought of 
ascending prayers for my welfare, from one tenderly beloved. 
There is something very delightful in such spiritual commu- 
nion." 

Mrs. Jackson being absent upon a distant visit, he wrote, 
April 13th, 1859: — 

" Is there not comfort in prayer, which is not elsewhere to be 
found?" 

"Home, April 20th, 1859. — Our potatoes are coming up. 
.... "We have had very unusually dry weather for nearly a 
fortnight, and your garden had been thu-stiug for rain till last 
evening, when the weather commenced changing, and to-day we 
have had some rain. Through grace given me from above, I felt 



COREESPONDENCE. 123 

that rain would come at tlio right time, and I don't recollect 
having ever felt so grateful for a rain as for the present one. 

" Last evening I sowed turnips between our pease. 

" I was mistaken about your large garden-fruit being peaches ; 
it turns out to be apricots; and I enclose you one wliich I found 

on the ground to-day. And just tliink ! my little has a tree 

full of them. You must come home before they get ripe." 

He playfully applied the pronoun your to all the common 
possessions of his family when addressing his wife. It was "your 
house/' " your garden/' " j'-our horse/' "your husband/' or, more 
generally, "your hombre," and even "your salary." 

'^ May 11th, 1859. — I wrote you this morning that you must 
not be discouraged. 'All tilings work together for good' to 
God's children. I think it would have done you good to hear 

Dr. on this last Sabbath : ' No affliction for the present 

seemeth to be joyous, but grievous ; nevertheless, afterward, it 
yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them who are 
exercised thereby.' See if you cannot spend a short time each 
evening after dark in looking out of your window into space, and 
meditating upon Heaven with all its joys unspeakable and full of 
glory ; and thmk what the Saviour relinciuished iu glory when he 
came to earth, and of His sufferings for us ; and seek to realize 
with the Apostle, that the afflictions of the present life are not wor- 
thy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 

" Try to look up and be cheerful, and not desponding. Trust 
our kind heavenly Father, and by the eye of faith see that all 

tilings with you are right, and for your best interest The 

clouds come, pass over us, and are followed by bright sunsliine; 
so, in God's moral dealings with us. He permits us to have 
trouble awhile, but let us, even in the most trying dispensations 
of His providence, be cheered by the brightness which is a little 
ahead. 



124 LIFE OF LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSON. 

" Try to live near to Jesus, and secure that peace which flows 
like a river." 

"Home, May 12th, 1850. — I have had only one letter this 
week, but ' hope springs immortal in the human breast.' So you 
see that I am becoming quite poetical, since listening to a lecture 

on that subject last night by , which was owe grand failure. 

I should not have gone ; but as I was on my way to see Capt. 

at ]\Iajor 's, I fell in with them going to the lecture, 

and I could not avoid joining them. After the lecture, I returned 
with . them and made my visit, and, before committmg myself to 
the arms of Morpheus, your clock, though behind tune, struck 12 
A. M., so I retired this morning instead of last evening. I send 
you a flower from your garden, and could send one in full 
bloom, but I thought that this one, which is just opening, would 
be in a bette.: state of preservation when you get it." 

"October 5th, 1859. — I am glad and thankful that you re- 
ceived the draft and letters in time. How kind is God to His 
children especially! I feel so thankful to Him that lie has 
blessed me with so much faith, though I well know that I have 
not that faith which it is my privilege to have. But I have been 
taught never to despair, but to wait, cspectmg the blessing at 

the last moment Such occurrences should strengthen our 

faith in Him who never slumbers." 

Such was the peaceful and pure life in which the days of 
Jackson glided by at Lexmgton. But the time was short. 
Events were ripening which called him into scenes more stirring, 
and to deeds that have brought his name before the world, and 
shed an imperishable lustre on his memory. 



SECESSION. 125 



CHAPTER V. 

SECESSION. 

The type of Major Jackson's political opinions has been 
already described, as that of a States'-Riglits' Democrat of "the 
most straitest sect." This name did not denote the attachment 
of those who bore it to the dogmas of universal suffrage and 
radical democracy, as concerned the State Governments; but 
their advocacy of republican rights for these Governments, and 
a limited construction of the powers conferred by them on th'e 
Federal Government. Their view of those powers was founded 
on the following historical facts, which no well-informed American 
hazards his credit by disputing: — That the former colonies of 
Great Britain emerged from the Revolutionary War distinct and 
sovereign political communities or commonwealths, in a word, 
separate nations, though allied together, and as such were recog- 
nized by all the European powers: That, after some years' 
existence as such, they voluntarily formed a covenant, called the 
Constitution of the United States, which created a species of 
government resting upon this compact for its existence and 
rights ; a government which was the creature of the sovereign 
States, acting as independent nations in forming it: That this 
compact conferred certain defined powers and duties upon the 
Central Government, for purposes common to all the States 
alike, and expressly reserved and prohibited the exercise of all 
other powers, leavmg to the States the management of their own 



126 LIFE OF LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSON. 

affairs. They, tlicrcforc, did not sacrifice their nature as sover- 
eignties, by acceding to the Federal Union ; but, by compact, . 
they conceded some of the functions of an independent nation, 
particularly defined, to the Central Government, retaining all the 
rest as before. These facts and this inference "were uniformly 
held by the Commonwealth of Virginia at all times, being sol- 
emnly asserted when she joined the copartnership, and frequently 
reaffirmed by her Government down to the present day. They 
were, in substance, embodied in the Constitution of the United 
States itself, by a formal amendment, immediately after it went 
into effect. Smce thii era of the elder Adams, when the central- 
izing doctrine was utterly overwhelmed by the election of Mr. 
Jefferson, they have been professed in theory, thougli often 
violated in act, by every Administration of whatever party it 
might be, and by nearly every State. . • 

The party of the States'-Rights usually taught, from these 
principles, that the Federal Government ought to continue what 
it was in the purer days of Washing-ton and Jefferson, unambi- 
tious in its claims of jurisdiction, simple and modest in its bear- 
ing, restricted in its wealth and patronage, and economical of 
expenditures, save in the common defence against external ene- 
mies. They licld that all acts of legislation which interfered with 
those functions appropriate to the States as Commonw:ealths, 
and all those acts which turned aside from the general interests 
common to the States alike, to promote particular or local 
interests, were partial, usurping, and in virtual violation of the 
spirit of the Constitution. Among these, they classed all bounty 
laws designed to favor the inhabitants of a section, all protective 
tariffs, the chartering of a vast Banking Corporation in one of 
the States, and all meddling with the institution of domestic 
slavery in the States. They also held that tlie very Government, 
being the creation of commonwealths which acted as independent 



CEEED OP states' EIGHTS. 12T 

nations in forming it, and originating^ in a covenant whi'^h they 
voluntarily formed as such, derived its whole authority from its 
conformity to the terms of that covenant : that, if the covenant 
were destroyed, the Government was destroyed, and its rightful 
title to allegiance from any person was amiiliilated — that being 
gone which was the sole basis of it; and that, in the dernier 
ressort upon any vital instance of usurpation, the States them- 
selves must be the judges whether the covenant was destroyed, 
and judges too of the necessity and nature of their redress. 
This right, to be exercised, iudeed, under those moral obligations 
which should govern all international intercourse, they held to be 
inlierent in the States as originally sovereign ; while to suppose 
theu" federal compact divested them of it was preposterous, and 
what was, in the nature of the case, impossible. It would 
represent their voluntary act in acceding to the covenant as a 
political suicide. And it would have been equally preposterous 
for the Federal Constitution formally to confer it ; it would have 
been the absurdity of the offspring's attempting to confer on its 
own parent the rights of paternity. Hence the absolute silence 
of the Federal Constitution concerning this inalienable right of 
the States was logically consistent, and is as incapable of imply- 
ing anything against, as for, its just exercise. How natural 
and fair this construction is, may be shown by the argument of 
the gTcat English moralist, Paley, against the theory which founds 
the government of States over individuals upon the fiction of a 
social compact. He reasons unanswerably, that if this were so, 
the violation of the original compact by the government of a 
commonwealth, in any one point, would destroy the blading force 
of that covenant on the other party, the citizen, and so annihilate 
all right to allegiance. "Whence we should reach the ruinous 
and absurd proposition, that any one unconstitutional act in the 
ruler would release every citizen, ui the future, from all rightful 



128 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

obligation to oLey any law lie ciijoined, just or mijust. The 
argument is perfectly sound against the theory of a social con- 
tract between individuals, because the government of a State 
over them is not founded on any such contract, but on the 
ordinance of God. But in the case of the United States the 
fact was precisely opposite, for the whole Central Government 
actually did originate avowedly in " a social contract," to which 
the parties were States instead of persons. So that Paley's 
deduction is, in this case, perfectly true. But its results are, 
here, in no wise absurd or disorganizing ; because the creation 
of the Federal Government did not originate a social order or 
civic life for the States, and its destruction, therefore, would not 
destroy nor even relax it. The jurisdiction of the States them- 
selves — older and more sovereign societies, indestructible save 
by the hand of political murder from without — preserved and 
regulated the whole social order; and the few functions which 
had been by them lent to the Federal Government, upon the fall 
of the latter, would not perish, but naturally revert to the State.- 
which had granted them. In the integrity of their powers, 
therefore, was the civic life of the American people. 

The conception which the fathers of the Federal Constitution 
formed of their confederation, was that of a Common Agent for 
the equal benefit of the parties confederated, exercising no pow- 
ers except those derived from their consent, and neither possess- 
ing nor needing any guarantee for those powers as against the 
parties, the States, save the obvious beneficence towards them 
of all its action. The Union was not a prison owned by some 
despot, within which the unwilling inhabitants were to be kept 
by force, making residence there the infliction, and escape the 
privilege ; it was to be the home, created for their common hap- 
piness by a family of freemen, where residence would be the 
privilege, and exclusion the penalty ; where each member of tlic 



TRUE THEORY OP FEDERAL UNION. 129 

brotherhood abode only "because he chose to do so; and yet 
there was no danger that the membership would be prematurely 
dissolved, because the advantages of its just and beneficent rules 
would insure on the part of each member the desire to continue 
in it ; and the threat of exclusion would be the sufficient disci- 
pline to reduce a capricious party to reason. And such was the 
Federal Union during the life of its founders; a government 
more deeply seated in the love of its people, and therefore 
stronger than any in Christendom; more productive of public 
wealth and happiness in its action ; weak for aggression against 
the rights of its citizens, yet powerful for their defence against 
external' enemies. In this point was intended to be the essential 
wisdom of its structure ; that, being forbidden to enforce, by the 
strong hand, even its legitimate will (much more its illegal) 
upon the parties to it, the States, it was compelled to foster 
the motive for compliance by making its authority a minister 
of good only, and not of evil. Thus did our patriotic fathers 
attempt to solve the problem, hitherto unsolved, of securing the 
freedom of the parts, and yet giving sufficient unity to the whole, 
for protection against unprincipled power from without. Had 
all the parts possessed public virtue enough to understand and 
keep their obligations, the American Union would have contin- 
ued a great, because a benign government. But with this great 
balance-wheel of free consent struck from its fabric, it became 
at once the most mischievous, cruel, and impracticable of all 
institutes, a centralized democracy, owning no law save the ca- 
price of the numerical majority. 

The States' Rights party could i^rove that their conception of 
the government was the true one, not only by the closest deduc- 
tion of reasonmg, but by notorious facts. One of these was, 
that the framers of the Constitution themselves left the Federal 
Government unclothed with any powers of coercion over the 
17 



130 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

States, not from ovcrsiglit, but of set purpose. The proposal 
to give this po'^er was made by one, and was rejected by the 
rest. In this, the men who were afterwards claimed as the lead- 
ers of the party of centralization, such as Alexander Hamilton, 
agreed precisely with the men who thenceforward asserted the 
rights of the States, represented by Mr. JJadison.* All agi-eed 
in declaring, that to give such a power over States, was inconsis-. 
tent with the nature of the government designed, would infallibly 
corrupt it, and would make it justly odious to the States, and 
impracticable to be maintained, save by the utter banishment of 
republican freedom out of the land. What more complete proof 
is needed of this truth, than the fact displayed in 1861, that in 
the very attempt to coerce States, the Constitution immediately 
perished? The Constitution was therefore, of purpose, left 
silent as to any such power ; and on the completion of the docu- 
ment, the lack of it was expressly avowed in the words : " The 
powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, 
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States 
respectively, or to the people." 

Another fact was, that when the State of Virginia, then the 
leading one in fame, power, and the ability of her statesmen, gave 
her reluctant and chary adliesion to the Federal Union, she 
coupled it, in the very act accepting the Constitution, with this 
condition : that she should be for ever free to retract her adhc-" 
sion, whenever she found the Union inconvenient, of which 
juncture she was to be sole judge ; and to resume her separate 
independence, uimiolestcd. Her reception upon these declared 

* 111 the Convention on the 31st May, 1787, iladison declared that " the use 
of foicc (igainst a State ■would be more like a declaration of •war, than an inflic- 
tion of piniishment, and Avould probably be considered by the party attacked, 
as a disrolution of all previous compacts: a Union of States containing such an 
ingredient seemed to provide for its own destruction." In one of the debates on 
the New York State Convention, Hamilton said, " To coerce a State ■would be 
one of the maddest projects ever devised." "NVe have lived tX) see an attempt to 
coerce not one State but eleven. 



SECESSION IMPLIED IN ORIGIN OP UNITED STATES. 131 

terms, the only ones upon which she would have entered, was 
virtually a promise that her condition should be granted. Nor 
was she the only State which made the same i-eservation. New 
York and Ehode Island, the latter the smallest, and the former 
the most^ powerful State, next to Virginia, both now among the 
covenant-breakers, which are persecuting the Old Dominion with 
a malignant treachery, for claiming her covenanted right, accepted 
the Union on the same condition. Their admission on such 
terms not only seals their right to retire at their option, but also 
demonstrates that all the other States understood the compact as, 
of course, implying such a right. The attempt has been made to 
break the force of this fact, by the miserable subterfuge : That 
Virginia, New York, and Ehode Island, only stipulated for this 
right to retu-e if they found the Union inconvenient, because 
they feared it might prove a failure ; and that since its splendid 
success, that condition had become antiquated, and expired. It 
would be enough to expose this unprincipled sophism, to ask, how 
long a time might not be required to demonstrate that the Union 
had been successful ? Do not the events which are now transpir- 
ing, keep that question yet in suspense : leading the most ex- 
perienced minds in Europe to doubt whether such a scheme of 
government is not impracticable ? But the very point of the 
stipulation made by Virginia was, that she was to judge for her- 
self, when, and how far, the Union proved inadequate to confer 
those benefits she sought under it. And, if anything further is 
needed to explode the wretched pretext, it is found in the fact, 
that Virginia has always taken express care that this condition 
in her covenant should not grow antiquated, by re-affirming it 
from time to time, to this 'day, in the most formal manner- 

It is thus abundantly proved that the right of the States to 
retire from the ^ Federal Union, when the compact was broken, 
was inherent in themj and that the Constitution could neither 



132 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

give nor take a^ray this privilege. The same thing appears 
equally from the manner in which the Colonies first acquired 
their independence. Their revolution vras a secession from the 
British Empire. They declared themselves to be the only right- 
ful judges of its necessity. So that every shadow of claim wjiich 
they have to their present position is derived from the doctrine 
that the people of a commonwealth are entitled to change their 
form of government whenever they judge it necessary for their 
welfare. Nothing, therefore, can be more monstrous than the 
attempt of the States of the North to obstruct the exercise of 
this right by an inhuman war ; when it is only by its exercise 
that they themselves exist. 

Once more ; the formation of the United States under their 
preseiit Constitution, was an act of secession from the confed- 
eration previously existing. It was made all the more glaring 
by the fact, that the articles of Confederation had very recently 
been perfected, and had been accepted by all the States, with 
the express injunction — " And the Union shall be perpetual." 
That confederation did not dissolve itself: it did not grant its 
members leave to desert it, and form a new combination ; on 
the contrary, it claimed an immortal existence. Yet one, and 
another, and another State deserted it to enter the new Union, 
when it saw fit ; and one, Rhode Island, did not transfer itself 
from the old compact to the new, for thi-ec years. Yet neither 
the new nor the old confederation di'camed of assailing the 
other : both recognized the sovereign rights of the States, to 
secede or to accede. Accession to the new could only take place, 
by means of secession from the old Union ; which had precisely 
the same claims to the adhesion of its members. So that,, when 
"Washington and his illustrious associates of the Convention of 
1787, proposed a new Constitution to the States, they were 
proposing secession. 



OBJECTIONS REPUTED. 133 

It is plain, then, tliat to speak of a State committing treason 
against the Government of the United States, is just as absurd 
as to describe a parent as being guilty of insubordination to his 
son. There might be injustice or violence ; there could . be no 
treason. To speak of resistance organized by the sovereign 
States 3,gainst the Federal Government as rebellion, is prepos- 
terous. It was just as easy for Great Britain to rebel against 
Austria, while they were members of the great coalition against 
iSI'apoleon. He who pretends to liken the secession of "Virginia 
from tlic Union, to a rebellion of the county of York or Kent 
against the British throne, a simile advanced by the chief 
magistrate of the United States himself,- is either uttering 
stupid nonsense or profligate falsehood; for the relations in 
the two cases have no ground in common, on which the 
pretended analogy can rest. What English county possessed 
sovereignty or independence, or in the exercise of such powers 
entered into any union or confederation ? 

It is objected again, that the admission of the right to retire 
from the Union renders its authority a rope of sand, and its 
character as a government a mere simiilacnim, which dissolves 
at the first touch of resistance. The triumphant reply of Vir- 
ginians is, that our State has always had this right as a condi- 
tion of her membership in the Union ; and yet this Government 
was to her, for eighty years, anything else than a "rope of 
sand." It was a bond which held her for that period in firm 
affection and loyalty, which nothing but the most ruthless des- 
potism could relax, which retained its strength even when it was 
binding the State to her incipient dishonor and destruction. It 
is a strange and disgraceful proposition to be asserted by Re- 
publicans, that no force is a real force except that which is sus- 
tained by an inexorable physical power. It would seem that, 
with its assertors, honor, covenants, oaths, affections, enlightened 



134 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

sclf-iutcrcst^ arc ouly a rope of sand. The trutli is, that the 
physical power of even the most iron despotisms reposes on 
moral forces, and if these arc withdra'wn from beneath, llie 
most rigid tyranny becomes but a simulacrum, which dissolves at 
the touch of resistance. How much more, then, must all free 
governments be founded on the affections, the common ftiterests, 
and the consent of the governed? "While the Government of 
the United States conciliated these, it was strong and efficient 
for good; when they were gone, it became impotent for good, 
and existed ouly for evil. This was all the strength which its 
founders ever meant to assign it, or which its nature permitted ; 
if this species of strength failed it, then that fact was the evi- 
dence that it had ceased to fulfil the purposes of its creation, 
and ought to perish. 

It has been urged, that if the right be denied to the United 
States to coerce a seceding State, it is equivalent to tlic absurd 
proposition, that the Union never had any other title to the alle- 
giance of any State than its own caprice chose to yield it ; that 
unless the right forcibly to resist secession is granted to the 
former, the right to withdraw for any cause, or for no cause, is 
asserted for the latter. This dilemma was charged upon ^Ir. 
Buchanan, the last President of the United States, when he ven- 
tured to reaffirm the established doctrine of the Constitution, 
that it gave Congi'ess no power to coerce a State, Such pre- 
tended reasoncrs can never have heard of the well-known class 
of imperfect rights in ethics ; they cannot conceive that a suffer- 
ing Christian may have a claim in morals upon the alms of his 
fellow- Christian, and yet not have a moral right to take relief 
by force of arms. The right of the United States to the adhe- 
sion of the States, while the compact with them was Hiithfully 
kept, was precisely one of these imperfect rights. Tlieir inher- 
ent right to withdraw for just cause, and to judge for themselves 



OBJECTIONS REFUTED. ' 135 

when that cause exists, does not imply a right to withdraw for 
no cause, or for a trivial cause, any more than the fact that the 
Christian must be left free in giving alms to the distressed, im- 
plies that he has a right to withhold alms from every person, 
however distressed. It is asked what guarantee the Union 
would then have against the secession of its members for trivial 
causes, or mere caprice ? The answer is : It would have as 
guarantee the force of public opinion, habits, and affections; 
and above all, the fact that in every capricious secession the 
larger share of the inconveniences would fall upon the seceding 
member. If the Federal Government were equitable and ben- 
eficent, this- safeguard would be always omnipotent. 

Akin to this is the objection, that if the Union may not forcibly 
prevent the secession of a State, then it has no rightful mode of 
self-protection against any wrongful acts wliich the departing 
member may commit in her exit, such as appropriating the 
common property, or against any detrimental or even destructive 
use which she may make of her independence afterwards. But 
is not this State, the moment she resumes her separate indepen- 
dence, bound by the comity of nations to her former partners, as 
any other nation is ? Just as any other independent neighbor 
may be required so to exercise its sovereignty as not to infringe 
the sovereignty of others, in the same way may she be, even by 
force of armg. But then the coercion must be applied only to 
compel her to act as a just equal and neighbor ; not to enforce 
by violence a union which, in its very nature, can only be volun- 
tary. 

The clamor concerning the inconvenience and loss which tlie 
remaining United States experience by the just secession of a 
part, in the diminution of territory, departure from natural / 
boundaries, severance of rivers and mountain chains, and 
interruptions of advantageous commerce, admits of an easy 



136 ■ LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

answer to any honest mind. In all this, the North is but paying 
the righteous penalty of the wrongs which justify the secession 
of the South. If the former docs not like the loss, why did it 
commit the crime? Do the territories, the boundaries, the 
juountains, the rivers of Virginia belong to her, or do tlicy 
belong to a parcel of States without her, which never claimed to 
be more than her co-ordinates ? 

An excellent proof of the justice of all these reasonings may 
be seen in the fact, that the most of those politicians at the 
Xorth Avho now deny them, were the violent assertors of them, 
when they considered themselves aggrieved. So obvious were 
they, that the most did not dare to deny their application to the 
Southern States, in case they demanded the right of withdi-awal. 
The general opinion was, that in that case the Constitution 
would require them to allow us to go in peace. But after the 
thirst for plunder and revenge was awakened, and frantic 
passions had seized on the minds of the North, all this was 
changed, and sophistical pretexts were sought for war. 

Such were the doctrines which the party of the States' rights 
had always maintained, and to wliich Major Jackson was com- 
mitted by the firmest convictions. K they appear to the reader 
to present the conception of a government very singular, very 
far removed from all European ideas, or even very impracticable, 
still, if he has a particle of fairness of mind, he will sec, at a 
glance, that his estimate of the government has nothing what- 
ever to do with the righteousness or propriety of the action 
taken by the advocates of States' rights. This species of fed- 
eration, be it wise or foolish, good or bad, was the one to which 
they were actually bound in covenant. This, and no other form 
of government, was what they had pledged themselves to obey. 
In this way they liad uniformly explained the obligations which 
they considered themselves as assuming. This explanation had 



FEDERAL USURPATI0X3. 137 

been at first accepted by all parties ; Virginia, declaring it in 
the sovereign act by wliicli she made herself a member of the 
Federal Union, and repeating it in her famous resolutions of 
1798-99, had never ceased to reiterate Iier claims; and in this 
she had been followed by the other Southern States, her sisters 
and daughters. 

Secession, then, was no dishonest after-thought, suggested by 
a growing sectional ambition, but the ancient, righteous remedy, 
to which the Southern States were reluctantly driven, by a long 
course of treachery and oppression. Ever since 1820, they had 
seen .with grief that the true balance of the Constitution was 
overthrown,' the Government centralized^ and the rights of the 
States engrossed by the Federal Congress. It was equally clear 
that the practical advantages of these usurpations were all inur- 
ing to the North against the South. A bounty on fisheries was 
granted from the first, which was as plainly for the partial 
advantage of New England, as though the tax-gatherer had, 
with his own hand, plucked the money out of the pockets of the 
rest of the citizens, to place it in theirs. This bounty, varying 
from one to two millions annually, and continued for eighty 
years, will account for the transfer of many hundreds of millions 
to New England from the other States. The Northern were 
maritime States; tlie Southern were, by population, climate, 
habits, and geographical position, inclined to agricultural pur- 
suits. A code of navigation laws was immediately passed, 
which operated as a perpetual tax on Southern industry, for the 
bribing of Northern adventure upon the seas. Under the first 
President, the Constitution was violated by the assumption of a 
power in Congress to create an overshadowing Banking cor- 
poration, -with special privileges, within the territory of a State ; 
and this bank being, moreover, immediately employed as the 
agent for funding and paying the Federal debt contracted for 

18 



138 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

the War of Independence, at once, and irrevocably, removed the 
financial centre from the Southern States, the richer portion, and 
paying tlic larger sliarc of the taxes, to the poorer Nortli, which 
paid less. A system of partial taxation by tariffs was also com- 
menced, for a motive glaringly unconstitutional, namel}', to foster 
local enterprises for home manufactures, seated almost exclu- 
sively in the Northern and Middle States. These tariffs were 
constantly pressed to a more exorbitant height, throwing 
millions of unequal burden annually upon the South; and 
never for one moment were they removed, although sometimes 
they received a momentary and deceitful relaxation, when the 
South seemed about to awake to a stern demand for justice. 

But the chief sectional outrage was that aimed against the 
property of the Southern States in the labor of the African race, 
held to servitude within them. As soon as the Confederation 
began to acquire new territory, the Northern States disclosed a 
fixed purpose of sectional aggrandizement therein, by means of 
the general and ignorant prejudice agamst the Afi-ican race, 
and the institution of slavery. Finding African labor unsuited 
to their climate, they had extingniishcd slavery among themselves 
from motives pui-ely pecuniary, not generally by the emancipation 
of their slaves, but by selling them to the South. And the ten- 
dency of the landless population of Eui-ope to flow to the 
Western Contmeut, showed them an indefinite supply of labor, 
population, and wealth ; while a relative expansion of the 
Southern States was absolutely forbidden by the extinction of the 
slave-trade; a measure in which the South heartily concurred, 
against their obvious sectional interests, because of their con- 
viction of the immorality of the traffic. The plan of the North 
was to engross the whole of the new territories for their popula- 
tion, by the exclusion of African labor ; and the contest, which 
began from the very first, was never relaxed. But the South 



KANSAS-NEBRASKA LAW. 139 

was then too powerful to be oppressed with entire success. After 
a threatening contest in 1820, concerning the admission of Mis- 
souri as a slave State, she was received as such ; but the South 
unwisely permitted her entrance to be coupled with an enact- 
ment, that thenceforward all territory to the north of the Southern 
boundary of that State, latitude 36° 30', must be settled by white 
labor, while the remnant to the south of it might be settled by 
slave-labor. But in 1849, upon the acquisition of new territory 
from Mexico, the State of California was immediately closed 
against the South, though lying in part south of that line ; and 
the intention was boldly declared thenceforward to engi"oss the 
whole territory for the North. So flagrant a 'wrong, coupled 
with the perpetual agitation of abolition in the States, and the 
perpetual, unrestrained theft of slaves by Northern interlopers, 
naturally inflamed the resistance of the South to an alarming 
height. After many discussions, a delusive pacification was made, 
chiefly tln^ougli the influence of the veteran politician, Henry 
Clay, and Senator Douglas of Illinois. The sum of the measures 
adopted, under their advocacy at different times, was, that, on the 
one hand, the South should acquiesce in engrossments cf terri- 
tory already committed, and that, on the other, laws should be 
passed, in accordance with the Constitution of the United States, 
to prevent negro-stealing. As to the territory yet lying unap- 
propriated, the Missouri Compromise (of 1820) was declared to 
be, as it was indeed, unconstitutional and null ; and the apparently 
fair principle was adopted, of leaving the common territory open 
to immigration from all sections alike, and allowing the people 
settled there to decide for themselves, whether the State which 
grew up should exclude African labor or not. The latter subject 
was apparently disposed of in the Kansas-Nebraska law, the 
favorite project of Senator Douglas. 
But no sooner was this law passed, than the South found that, 



140 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

•while it "kept the word of promise to the car," it was designed 
" to break it to the sense." The whole free-soil party, a majority 
of the whole North, openly proclaimed that they disdained to 
obey it ; jnst as the whole Abolition party, now nearly a majority, 
defied the law against negro-stealing. (Here was an instance 
of insubordination, sufficient of itself to justify the secession of 
the South.) But more: under the Kansas-Nebraska law, the 
practical question immediately emerged : How, and when, the 
people settling upon a common territory should exercise the 
discretion of determining whether African labor should have 
place in the State there growing? The' one party, aptly called 
that of squatterrSOvereigTity, said that they should wield this 
power as soon as they began to assemble there. This assured 
the victory in every case to the North, because landless free 
labor will, of course, ever anticipate capital and slave labor in 
mobility. The other party, including all the South, said, with 
obvious truth, that the people of the new State could only 
exercise the power of deciding for or against the African labor, 
when they became a State, a true jiojmlus, a full formed political 
society. To claim the opposite, was to make the rights of 
American citizens — rights recognized by both State and Federal 
Constitutions — dependent on the caprice of any rabble of 
paupers, foreigners, and free negroes, the majority of whom 
would probably not be citizens at all, assembled by sufferance 
upon the common domain. These territories, they argued, were 
the joint property of the United States; and, therefore, wliile 
held as such, should be administered (as usual in the case of 
territories) by Congress, for the impartial benefit of all the 
owners. No man becomes a citizen of the United States, save 
as he is the citizen of some State. To the citizens of all the 
States, therefore, those territories should belong ; and whenever 
any of these chose to exercise his right of emigrating to a new 



KAJVTSAS-NEBEASKA LAW. 141 

part of tlie common domain, it was the duty of Congress to 
follow his person and all his lawful possessions, with the impar- 
tial shield of legal protection. The same equal measure should 
be meted out to the clock-factory of the Connecticut man, and 
the African labor of the Carolinian, when transported to the 
common domain. And this would not be intrusion into the 
sovereignty of a new State, as to its admitting or excluding 
African labor ; because the moment it becomes a State, Congress 
withdraws, and leaves it, if it sees fit, to expel every African from 
its borders. The South saw clearly enough, that if this just view 
prevailed, they would still win no practical gain but merely pre- 
serving their honor. The emigration of white labor is mobile, 
quick, adventurous ; that of the slave-owner is cautious, sensitive, 
and slow. The North, by virtue of its actual numerical superior- 
ity, and its European immigration, stood ready to pour in thou- 
sands, where the South could only furnish hundreds, for the new 
lands. The South had dishiterestedly cut off its corresponding 
means of increase, by assentmg to, and even demanding the ex- 
tinction of the African slave-trade. Hence, it well knew, that, in 
claiming the constitutional construction of the Kansas-Nebraska 
law, it was making a demand which could save it nothing but 
its rights ; and that, practically, every territory, fertile enough 
to be worth seeking, would henceforward be occupied by exclu- 
sive white labor, and belong to the North. They could justly 
inquire of the latter,'" "Why enforce a useless aggression, to win 
what is already virtually yours, where the only actual result is 
to fix a stigma of subjection upon us, your constitutional equals ? 
Is it to teach us significantly that henceforth we are to be your 
slaves ? " But the odious construction was generally adopted 
by the North ; and at length, even the author of the law, Senator 
Douglas, deserted his own ground, and accepted it, becoming 
thus the leader of the larger number of Northern Democrats. 



142 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

The long course of usurpation and aggression lias now been 
traced near to its culminating point. The lawless events in 
Kansas helped to illustrate tlicsc differences, and to embitter 
the passions ; but their description need not detain us. Mean- 
time, the children of the South may say with pride and truth, 
that, on their side, the covenant of the Confederation was 
always observed. There liavc been at the South many corrupt, 
and some factious persons. Individuals have often asserted 
Southern rights in an intemperate, and sometimes in a wicked 
mode. But it will ever remain the glory of the South, that in 
no instance did any Southern State, or prevalent political party 
of the South, ever commit itself to any usurpation of power, 
through the Federal Government, to any sectional ends, or to 
any unconstitutional breach of the compact with the other 
sections, save perhaps in the instance of nullification — a defen- 
sive one. Our detractors arc defied to produce from history 
one exception to this illustrious record. Moreover, although 
the South knew that the Federal institutions were all working 
partially, and against them, they constantly sustained the honor 
and common interests of the Confederation, with a loyalty 
unknown at the North ; pouring out their blood in every war, 
and perpetually contributing, from their scantier resources, the 
major part of the support of the Government. They were con- 
servative by temper, and determined to be faithful to their 
engagements to the end. 

The reader will now be prepared to understand the political 
conclusions adopted by Major Jackson, in common with the most 
of his fellow-citizens. Secession has been so often charged 
upon us as a grave crime, that the defence of his memory 
demands these explanations. The chief lesson of his life would 
be neglected, were not the solution of the fact given, — that the 
purest and holiest of men became the hero . of the war for 



THE JOHN BRO^VN RAID. 143 

Soutliern independence. The statement has been insinuated that 
Jackson was seduced by factitious influences into the advocacy 
of a cause condemned by his own conscience ; but the assertion 
that he was capable of this is a slander equally against his head 
and his heart. His political opinions were maturely formed, 
and were exceedingly fixed. Few who witnessed the deferential 
silence with which he listened to the talk of more dogmatical 
acquaintances, were aware how distinct and firm his conclu- 
sions were. He was pre-eminently given to forming his own 
resolves, especially upon every question of duty; and, even 
where he listened to advice, it was weighed with a sturdy 
independence equal to his politeness. In 185G, the question of 
free-soil had assumed somewhat of its angry importance, and 
the defection of the professed supporters of the rights of the 
States at the North had begun, under the pretext of squatter- 
sovereignty. To the few friends to whom Jackson spoke of his 
own opinions, he then declared that the South ought to take its 
stand upon the outer verge of its just rights, and there, resist 
aggression, if necessary, by the sword; that, while it should do 
nothing beyond the limits of strict righteousness- to provoke 
bloodshed, yet any surrender of principle whatever, to such 
adversaries as ours, would be mischievous. 

In the Fall of 1859, the first angry drops of the deluge of 
blood which was approaching, fell upon the soil of Virginia. 
The event known as the John Brown Raid occurred at Harper's 
Ferry, in which that Border assassin endeavored to excite a 
servile insurrection and civil war, from that point. He and all 
his accomplices, save one, were either slain, or expiated their 
crime upon the scaffold. As his rescue was loudly threatened, 
a military force was mustered at Charleston, the seat of justice 
for Jefferson county, to protect the officers of the law in 
the exercise of their functions. Virginia then had scarcely 



144 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

any regular force, except the cadets of her military school. 
They with their ofQcers were accordingly ordered to this place ; 
and Major Jackson went with them, leading his battery of light 
pieces. His command, while there, was conspicuous for its per- 
fect drill and subordination ; and he diligently improved their 
time, in manoeuvring them upon the roughest ground to be 
selected in that beautiful region. He was a spectator of the 
stoical death of Brown, and gave his friends a graphic account 
of the scene. 

This mad attempt of a handful of vulgar cut-throats, and its 
condign punishment, would have been a very trivial affair to the 
Southern people, but for the manner in which it was regarded 
by the people of the North. Their presses, pulpits, public 
meetings and conversations, disclosed such a hatred to the South 
and its institutions, as to lead them to justify the crime, involv- 
ing though it did the most aggravated robbery, treason, and 
murder j to deny the right of Virginia to punish it ; to vilify the 
State in consequence with torrents of abuse perfectly demoni- 
acal ; to threaten loudly the assassination of her magistrates for 
the performance of their duty; and to exalt the blood-thirsty 
fanatic who led the party, to a public apotheosis. The pretext 
for this astounding outrage upon public opinion was, that it was 
the right of masters to property in the labor of their slaves, 
which John Brown sought to assail through this career of rapine 
and blood ; a right, nevertheless, recognized by the laws of nearly 
every State in the Union, when at least as virtuous and Christian 
as now ; by the laws of Virginia, and by the Federal Constitu- 
tion itself, to which all alike avowed a common allegiance. And 
while this insult was eagerly given by every professed Abolition- 
ist, they were seconded by so many of the free-soil party, that it 
was doubtful if the secret sympathizers did not constitute a 
majority of the Northern people. When the people of tho 



SCHISM OP THE DEMOCRATS. 145 

South witnessed these things, it caused a shock of grief and indig- 
nation. The most sober men saw in the event, insignificant in 
itself, a symptom of momentous importance, and recognized the 
truth tliat the grand collision was near at hand. Loyalty to 
the Union was, however, still unbroken ; and the purpose was 
uriiversal, to act only on the defensive, and to fulfil to the end 
every obligation of the Constitution. 

Major Jackson spent the summer vacation of 1860 in New 
England, in the pursuit of health. On his return, he said he 
had seen and heard quite enough in the North, to justify the 
division which had just occurred in the Democratic party, and 
which resulted in the defeat of Douglas and the election of 
Lincoln; a division, he predicted, which would render the 
dissolution of the Union inevitable. This great schism among 
the Democrats was perfected in the spring of 1860, when 
they met in the city of Charleston, South Carolina, in grand 
caucus, to select a candidate for the ofGcc of President, to be 
presented for the votes of their party. The two sections then 
pressed their rival interpretations of the Kansas-Nebraska law, 
which had been left ambigTious by the similar caucus in 
Cincinnati, four years l^efofe. The Democrats of the South 
demanded that the party should propose no candidate, unless 
he held their view, that the people of a territory should not 
interfere with slavery in the public domains until they becam-C 
a sovereign State ; and that, meantime, African labor and white 
labor should, enjoy common and equal privileges. The Demo- 
crats of the North, with a few exceptions, boldly avowed the 
doctrine of squatter-sovereignty. Various attempts were made 
at conciliation, but the utmost which the Northern party would 
concede was, a promise to abide by the decision which might be 
made upon that question afterwards, by the Supreme Court of 
the United States. Tliis was rejected as nugatory, because that 

19 



14G LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

Court liad akcady decided, in the famous Dred-Scott case, as in 
others, that the legislature of the settlers in a territory had no 
right to impair the property of citizens of the United States in 
their slaves, residing among them ; and that it was the duty 
of tlie Federal Government, in all its departments, to protect 
these rights of its citizens. K those partisans had ever intended 
to be governed by the authority of that pure and exalted 
tribunal, these questions •would have been already settled for 
them; and the hope which they harbored was manifest, s6 to 
change the membership of that Court, in time, as to exact of it 
an ex parte decision which would strip the South of all legal 
defences. After a stormy discussion and an adjournment to 
Baltimore, the caucus was severed into two fragments, of which 
the Southern, with a few Northern Democrats, nominated John 
C. Breckinridge of Kentucky, then the vice-Prcsident ; and the 
other, Senator Douglas. To the former of these, called Breck- 
inridge Democrats, Major Jackson adliered with his usual quiet 
decision, speaking little concerning his political opinions, save 
to a few intimates, but voting in every case for men of tliis 
shade of opinion. 

Meantime the party of the free soil, or as they called 
themselves Republicans (impudently assuming the name of the 
party founded by Jeflfcrson, whose every principle in Federal 
politics they outraged!) nominated a purely sectional ticket, 
headed by Abraham Lincoln of Illinois. Their opponents called 
them Black Bcpublicans ; aptly expressing at once their negro- 
])liilism, and the monstrous nature of their pretensions. Then- 
platform of principles embodied, on the old issues of politics, the 
most oppressive Federal usurpations ; and on the question of the 
rights of the South in the common domain (the territory out of 
which future States should be formed), roundly declared that the 
North should henceforward engross absolutely the whole. It is 



BLACK EEPUBi^ICiLN PLATFOEM. 147 

true that tlicy proposed to appease the alarm of the South, by 
declaring that the Federal Government had no power to interfere 
directly with slavery in* the States. But how little solace any 
reasonable mind would discover in this deceptive pledge could 
be seen in the fact, that Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Seward, who, 
though not the candidate, was the corypliaus of the party, had 
declared that these United States could not exist part free and 
part slave ', that there was an irrepressible conflict between the 
two systems ; and that slavery in the States must therefore be 
put under a process of extinction. He was simply a fool who 
could not see what all this meant in the mouths of the advocates 
of a pi'etended " higher law ; " which these men interpreted into 
a license to violate their own official oaths, and to disobey the 
precepts of a constitution they had sworn to support, where 
they were adverse to their prejudices ; while they swallowed its 
emoluments, and enforced the parts advantageous to themselves 
against their fellow-citizens with unrelenting rigor; and all 
under pretence of conscience for God's revealed law. This 
doctrine Mr. Seward had openly proclaimed from his place as a 
Senator; and it had been generally accepted as the ethics of 
the party. The whole amount of the guarantee which the 
Lincoln platform gave the South was, that the Black Republi- 
cans, if victors, would refrain from issuing an- immediate edict 
of abolition, in glaring violation of the Constitution. But. after 
depressing and weakening the South for a few years, by other 
usurpations and exactions, and plying against slaveholders all 
the artillery of Federal power, it was expected that she would 
become too weak- to resist an amendment of that Constitution, 
laying all her rights at the feet of the tyrant section. Indeed, 
this plan was everywhere proclaimed by the populace, more 
candid than their demagogues. Another significant fact was 
that the open Abolitionists, who had previously run their own 



148 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

candidate for President, giving him at each quadrennial period 
a small, but increasing vote, now went over in a body to the 
support of Lincoln. 

The result of the election, held in November, 1860, was that 
Lincoln became President by a vote of the States strictly sec- 
tional {i. e., not a single State in the South voted for him), and 
in the North he failed to carry New Jersey. Of the popular 
vote he received about 1,800,000, while Douglas received about 
1,270,000, and Mr. Breckinridge 812,000. The Whig "party, 
retaining their old organization, cast about 735,000 votes for 
Senator Bell of Tennessee. Thus the popular vote for Lincoln 
included less than half of all the citizens ; and that for Douglas, 
if joined to that for Mr. Breckinridge, would have been larger 
than the vote for Lincoln. But this fact brought no consolation 
to the South. The party of squatter-sovcreigTity in the North 
had also become manifestly a free-soil party. It was true they 
used the delusive catch-word of non-intervention with slavery; 
and adduced the specious pica of "popular sovereignty" to 
cloak the odious pretension, that an accidental rabble of adven- 
turers, who might probably not be citizens at all, should over- 
step the sacred authority of Constitution, Congress, Supreme 
Court, and sovcreigTi States, to trample upon a right of recog- 
nized citizens. Their cry of " no intervention cither way," was 
explained by them to mean, that Congress should become dere- 
lict to its positive duty of protecting everywhere the equal 
rights of all the citizens, in order that a mob might be free 
to intervene, most fatally, against a part. They openly argued 
at home that their scheme was the more politic, because it effec- 
tually deprived the South of every inch of the common domain, 
while it was better concealed against constitutional objections. 
The South perceived it to be, in the strong phrase of one of her 



EFFECTS OF ELECTION IN THE SOUTH. 149 

statesmen, " but a short cut to all the ends of the Black Repub- 
licans." 

During the canvass, many patriotic voices were raised at the 
South, and a few at the North, in solemn remonstrance. Our 
enemies were reminded that Washmgton, Jeiferson, and the 
other fathers of the Government, had predicted, that the triumph 
of a sectional party in the Confederation would be the knell of 
its existence; and that their own best statesmen had declared 
the South neither would nor could remain in the Union, under a 
domination so utterly subversive of the objects of the Union. 
But such was the temper of the Northern people, that warnings 
only inflamed their arrogance. And when they ascertained that 
they had elected their candidate, they burst forth, in belief of 
their irresistible power, into declarations of purposes of usui'- 
pation and tyranny so monstrous, that many just men at the 
North wrote eagerly to their Southern friends, to hasten and 
seek their only safety in a separate independence. In the 
South, at a distance from these scenes, few indeed compre- 
hended their full danger, but all were painfully aroused, and 
many prepared for immediate defence. At the head of the 
latter was the State of South Carolina. Immediately after 
Lincoln's election was kno^vn, her Legislature called a sov- 
crcigii convention of the people, which, on the 20th of De- 
cember, 1860, formally retracted the connexion of the State 
with the Union, and resumed its independence. This action 
was had without discussion, and with perfect unanimity; the 
people of that State were convinced that the season for dis- 
cussion had passed, and the season for action had arrived. 
But, in. all the other Southern States, while there was no respect- 
able party anywhere which wavered in the purpose of vigorous 
resistance, there was a division of opinion concerning the time 
and mode of commencing it, denoted by the terms. Separate 



150 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

Secessiorij and Co-opcrativo Secession. The advocates of tl)fi 
former prevailed at first in the planting States, bordering upon 
the Gulf of Mexico; of the latter, in the States lying next to the 
i'rce States, and in Virginia. With these Major Jackson sympa- 
tiiizcd. Although this class of patriots embraced many shades of 
opinion, their distinctive views ■were these: — That while the 
sectional action, and especially the temper of the Northern 
people, would justify before God and man an immediate separa- 
tion, yet it was not politic to make it upon this provocation, 
because the South was so unprepared for that tremendous war 
wliich would probably follow. It was further contended that it 
would give her enemies the pretext — unfair, indeed, yet plausi- 
ble — to rob her of a part of her moral strength, by charging her 
with a factious appeal from the polls to violence, prompted only 
by the loss of the powers and emoluments of office: That, 
inasmuch as this iniquitous election was yet made under the 
forms of the Constitution, it would be better to await the iii'st 
aggTCSsion which plainly violated it, in form as well as in fact, 
and make that the signal of resistance : That the power of our 
enemies dictated the necessity of acting only in concert, so that 
the Southern cause might possess the full strength arising from 
the union of all these States : And that, since the collision of 
one with the Federal Government would inevitably decide the 
question of peace or war for all, and no State would stand idly, 
and see her Southern sisters crushed in detail by the common 
enemy, however erring by a generous precipitation, both courtesy 
and justice requii-ed that they should only act in concert. The 
advocates of immediate separate secession replied, that this act 
was, in its nature, that of a State acting sovercignl}-, and there- 
fore singly : That, although -the South was unprepared, }ct it 
was best to act at once, because the time consumed in consulting 
and preparing, would be so improved by our enemies in the 



SECESSION; IMMEDIATE OR CO-OPERATIVE. 151 

work of corrupting, intimidating, and encroaching, with all the 
potent enginery of the Federal Government in their hands, that 
the South would soon be disabled for any resistance : That, if 
action were postponed until full concert were secured, it would 
be postponed indefinitely ; the partial apathy of the people under 
so many wrongs, having shown that nothing would effectually 
rous3 them except the precipitating of the issue: And that the 
South had nothing to fear, because the unwarlike character of 
the North would deter them from' attacking a chivalrous and 
determined people, and the preciousness of the Southern com- 
merce would speedily procure from abroad potent mediation. 
It is plain, also, that some of the Carolinians were not unwilling 
to seize that accidental power, of committing their neighbors to 
a forcible resistance without asking their assent, which has becu 
explained above ; and therein they gave serious offence to many 
of their friends in Virginia. 

It is not important that the historian should decide whether 
the advocates of immediate or of co-operative secession were 
right. The purpose to coerce South Carolina illegally was, at 
once, indicated by the retention of the strongest work com- 
manding her chief city and harbor, Fort Sumter ; and the man- 
ner in which this threatening act was accompanied, aggravated 
the indignation of the people. On the 9th of January, 1861, 
Mississippi left the Union -, Alabama and Florida followed on 
the 11th; Georgia on the 20th; Louisiana on the 2Gth; and 
Texas on the 1st of February. On the 9th of February, a 
Provisional Government of -the six seceding States was insti- 
tuted at Montgomery, in Alabama, with Jefferson Davis for 
President, and Alexander H. Stephens for Vice-President. 

Meantime the border Slave States, headed by Virginia, while 
declaring that they would not remain passive spectators of an 
attempt to chastise the seceding States for thus exercising their 



152 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

imqiicstionable right, continued in the Union, and made strenuous 
efforts at conciliation. The General Assembly of Virginia pro- 
posed a conference of the Free and Slave States by their ambas- 
sadors, to devise some terms of mutual concession. This body 
met in Washington, Febfuary 4th, and the members of Congress 
from the Border States continued their anxious exertions to 
mediate in the Federal Legislature. But every attempt was 
utterly vain. No sooner had the Peace Conference, as it was 
called, assembled, than it was found that the Commissioners from 
the North, instead of coming with the moderate and dispassion- 
ate wisdom of statesmen, to heal the wounds of their country, 
were as full of the vims of party as the demagogues who had 
led the popular elections. Nothing was done, save to devise a 
deceptive compromise to be recommended to the Congress, — a 
compromise so worthless, that the larger number of the Southern 
Commissioners refused to accept it. But even this the Congi'css, 
now under the domination of a Black Republican- majority, dis- 
dained to grant, and almost to notice. The Legislature of 
Yu^ginia had also called together a Convention of the people, 
containing delegates from every city and county. So far was it 
from the purpose of the people to precipitate themselves rashly 
into violent measures, that when this Convention met, only about 
twenty-five of its members advocated immediate secession. The 
remainder (with the cxceptioi! of a few, who afterwards disclosed 
their original slavish intentions by their treason) were, on the 
one hand, unwilling to sacrifice the last hope of peace, until 
driven to self-defence by intolerable usurpations, but, on the 
other, resolved to maintain the rights of the South intact, and to 
resist every attempt of the United States to coerce the seceders 
by unconstitutional violence. Their expectation of being able 
to remain in the Union was slight, but they were resolved that 
the guilt of extinguishing this spark of hope, and compellmg a 



THE CHRISTIAN PEOPLE Mj^DIATE. 153 

separation, should rest upon their assailants. To this number 
adhered Major Jackson, with the larger part of the Christian 
people of the State, of all political parties. They had hailed 
the assembling of the Peace Conference with a gleam of hope, 
but when its consultations ended so abortively, nearly all 
accepted the stern conclusion, that nothing remained except that 
alternative between base submission or resistance, in which no 
honest man ever hesitates. 

Still, they were reluctant to despair of the Union. They 
appreciated the infamy which would attach to the Clnistianity of 
America, if, after all its boasts of numbers, power, influence, and 
spirituality,, it were found impotent to save the country from 
fratricidal war. Their cry was, " Christians to the rescue !" 
They asked : Should there not be enough of the power of love in 
these millions of the professed servants of the Prince of Peace, 
to renew the bonds of friendship j to say to the tempests of 
passion, '• Peace, be still ;" to keep down the hands which sought 
their brothers' throats, and rather to receive the sword into their 
own bosoms than allov/ their common country to be slain? 
They said, as long as there was a spark of life, yea, even though 
it were uncertain whether this spark was but an illusion, it would 
be better to wait till it was extinguished by necessity, than incur 
all the miseries of the extreme remedy, when it was possible 
that they might afterwards bo haunted by the remorseful dis- 
covery, that it was invoked without sufficient cause. They 
determined that the mountainous aggregate of crime and woe 
which impended — of a ruined Constitution, of cities sacked, of 
reeking battle-fields, of scattered churches, of widowed wives 
and orphaned children, of souls plunged, unprepared, into hell — 
should not be chargeable to them. None strove more earnestly 
to deprecate the crime than Major Jackson. A month before the 
catastrophe, he called upon his pastor, and spoke substantially 

20 



lt)4 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

as follows: — "If the general Government should persist in 
the measures now threatened, tlicrc must be war. It is pain- 
ful to discover with what unconcern they speak of war, and 
threaten it. They seem not to know Avhat its liorrors are. . I 
have had an opportunity of knowing enough on the subject, to 
make me fear war as the sum of all evils. Should the step be 
taken which is now threatened, we shall have no other alterna- 
tive ; we must fight. But do you not think that all the Christian 
people of the land could be induced to unite in a concert of 
prayer, to avert so great an evil ? It seems to me, that if they 
would unite thus in prayer, war might be prevented, and peace 
preserved." To this his pastor promptly assented, and promised 
to do what he could to bring about the concert of prayer he pro- 
posed. " Meantime," said he, " let us agree thus to pray." And 
henceforward, whenever he was called on to lead the devotions 
of others, one petition prominently presented and fervently 
pressed, was, that God would preserve the whole land from the 
evils of war. 

Between the leading Christians of the North and those of 
Virginia, several pacific communications passed, to some of which 
Jackson's name was appended, although with but faint hope of 
good results. On the Northern side, the actors were either impo- 
tent to carry out the fraternal feelings which they professed-, 
against the prevalent fury, or else their overtures were only like 
the deceitful caresses with which the driver soothes a restless 
horse, while the harness is fastened on his neck. It was clearly 
perceived, that while these smooth-sounding missives were sent, 
invoking the Christian forbearance of the South, it was expected 
that all the forbearance should be on that side; and not one of 
the pacificators had the honesty or courage to propose thAt the 
simple expedient should be tried, for healing the unholy strife, 
of yielding to the South her just rights. While pretended 



WAR WIIH SOUTH CAROLINA. 155 

meetings of sympathy were held for Southern wrongs^ no prac- 
tical measure was taken, and Black Republican majorities 
increased at every election. But the Christian people of Vir- 
ginia strove to avert the storm with a generous sincerity, more 
glorious than their subsequent heroism in breasting it. Their 
influence was felt in the magnanimous efforts of the old Com- 
monwealth to stand in the breach between the angry elements. 
They entreated her to endure wrongs, until endurance became 
almost a vice, to hold out the olive-branch after it had been 
spurned, to study modes of compromise and conciliation, until 
the verge of dishonor was touched, to refuse to despair of the 
Republic when hope had departed from all others, and to 
decline even acts of self-defence, which might provoke collision, 
until the cloud had risen over her very head. So reluctant was 
Virginia to behold the ruin of the Union she had so loyally 
adorned, that many of her sons and her allies were driven 
almost to fury by the nearness of the -danger, and the taunts of 
her enemies. 

But these were madly hurrying to take upon their own heads 
all the guilt of the giant crime, and thus to unite Virginia as one 
man, and render her justification as clear as the sunlight. The 
State of South Carolina had been soliciting, first of Mr. Buchanan 
and then of Lincoln, an equitable settlement of all questions in 
dispute between her as an independent power, and the Federal 
Government. Especially had she demanded that Fort Sumter, 
the only post in her territory held by that Government, should 
be restored to her on the obviously just ground, that being 
designed only for her local protection against foreign aggres- 
sion, when she relieved the central administration of that func- 
tion, it h-ad no longer any concern in her fortresses. The 
attempt was made, first, to amuse and deceive her ambassa- 
dors, by declarations which cannot be correctly named by any 



156 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

term short of this — that they were a series of reiterated 
falsities, uttered by tlie Secretary of State; and this attempt at 
official treachery was rendered more loathsome by his ingen- 
iously prostituting the sanctity of the ermine of the Supreme 
Court, to give credit to his assurances. But, on the 8th of 
April, a powerful armament being ready to reinforce the intru- 
sive garrison of Fort Sumter, the mask -was removed, and the 
Governor of South Carolina was bluntly informed that it should 
be done, " peaceably if they could, forcibly if they must." The 
Confederate authorities had not been hoodwinked; and they 
proceeded, on the 12th and 13 th of April, to reduce the post by 
their forces under General Beauregard. Thus the Federal 
Government assumed the guilt of the first military aggression. 

But they did not stop here : on April 14th, Lincoln made a 
proclamation, without the authority of a shadow of law from 
Congress, declaring war against South Carolina and the Con- 
federate Government, and calling upon the States for seventy- 
five thousand soldiers to invade them. The Governors of all 
the Southern States, except Maryland, refused compliance. In 
Virginia all remains of hesitation were instantly extinguished; 
the Convention, which was in session, on the 17th of April, 
passed an ordinance resuming the separate independence of the 
State; and the Governor immediately began to prepare for 
war. On the fourth Thursday of May, at an election held with 
perfect respect for the freedom of opinion, the people of Virginia 
ratified this separation almost unanimously, except in a part of 
the north-western counties, where the intrusion of a foreign 
clement had corrupted the public sentiment. 

Virginia was recognized on all hands as the leader of the 
border Slave States. Her enemies evidently mistook her mag- 
nanimous forbearance and struggles for peace, as signs of con- 
scious weakness. They said, the old "Mother of States and 



SPIRIT OF VIRGINIA. 157 

statesmen " was decrepit, that her genius was turned to dotage, 
that her breasts were diy of that milk which suckled her Hen- 
rys and "Washingtons. They thought her little more than a 
cowering beldame, whom a timely thi^eat would reduce to utter 
submissiveness. And thus they dared to stretch over her head 
the minatory rod. But when- the tyrant tried the perilous ex- 
periment, he was startled by a result as unexpected as that 
which followed the touch of Ithuriel's spear. She, whom he 
thought a patient, hesitating, helpless paralytic, flamed up at the 
insolent touch, like a pyramid of lire, and Virginia stood forth 
again in her immortal youth, the uuterrified Commonwealth of 
1776, a Minerva radiant with the terrible glories of policy and 
war, wielding that sword which ever flashed before the eyes of 
her aggressors, the " Sic semper Tyrannis." '''' The point of 
farthest endurance was at length passed; her demands for 
constitutional redress were all refused; her too generous con- 
cessions of right, met by a requisition for the unconditional 
surrender of honor and dignity ; her forbearance abused to col- 
lect armaments and equip fortresses on her borders, and on her 
own soil, for her intimidation ; the alternative forced upon her, 
cither to brave the oppressor's rod, or to aid him in the destruc- 
tion of her sisters and childi*en, for no other cause than that 
they contended nobly, if too rashly, for rights common to them 
and her ; and to crown all, the Constitution of the United States 
was rent in fragments by the assumption of the President to 
levy new forces, to wage war, without authority of any law of 
Congress, and to coerce sovereign States into adhesion, in the 
utter absence of all mtentions alid powers to that effect, in the 
Federal compact. Hence, except in the breast of a few traitors, 
there was now but one mind and one heart in Virginia. In one 
week, the whole State was converted into a camp, and the 

* See the Seal of the Commonwealth. 



158 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACIvSON. 

gauntlet of deathless resistance was flung back with high dis- 
dain. 

The world has learned to consider Jackson as the hero of the 
Virginia of 18G1.' The Commonwealth is proud to accept him 
as her representative man, and .the attitude which he held was 
the true type of hers ; as he stood conscientious, cautious, but 
fearless, pure and unselfish in motive, elevated in principle, 
with an eye raised in religious faith to the righteous heav- 
ens, awaiting the signal from the Divine approval for his re- 
sistance, profoundly sad for the mournful necessity, yet as 
sternly resolved to defend the right. In all classic and sacred 
story, there is no spectacle more affecting and sublime than 
that presented by this Cluistian man, and his Christian 
people, in this emergency. They did not share the delusion, 
cherished by many of the immediate Secessionists, that the 
North would be restrained from striking; but they knew the 
history of passion and fanaticism enough to expect a fearful 
war. They saw the mighty beast gathering his forces for the 
bound upon his prey, yet they calmly stepped before his jaws. 
How grandly does the action of Virginia contrast with that 
of Maryland and Kentucky, which, professmg attachment to the 
right, subsided into a pitiful " neutrality," that was, in fact, slavish 
co-operation with their enemies ; the one, on the plea that the 
military highway to the tyrants' capital lay through her heart ; 
and the other, on the ground that one-third of her border was 
only separated by a great river from the assailants ! The defec- 
tion of Kentucky left Virginia exposed on three sides to her 
invaders, and one of these the sea, vexed with the countless keels 
of the enemy ; while his mercenaries had stolen, and now held 
her greatest place of arms. Fortress Monroe, which commanded 
the approach to the wharves of her chief sea-port and her capital 
city. Her border lay under the muzzles of the camion which 



HIGH POSITION OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES. 159 

frowned from the ramparts of Washington, and it was plain, to 
friend and foe, that her smiling fields must be the chief arena for 
trampling armies. But these men did not quail on account of 
this ; having taken counsel only of God and the right, Virginia 
stepped into " the imminent deadly breach," baring her own fair 
bosom to the fiercest strokes of the swords lifted against her 
sisters. 

History will some day place the position of these Confederate 
States, in this high argument, in the clearest light of her glory. 
The cause they undertook to defend was that of regulated, con- 
stitutional liberty, and of fidelity to law and covenants, against 
the licentious violence of physical power. The assumptions they 
resisted were precisely those of that radical democracy, which 
deluged Europe with blood at the close of the eighteenth century, 
and which shook its thrones again in the convulsions of 1 848 ; 
the agrarianism which, mider the name of equality, would subject 
all the rights of individuals to the will of the many, and acknow- 
ledge no law nor ethics, save the lust of that mob which happens 
to be the larger. This power, which the old States of Europe ' 
expended such rivers of treasure and blood to curb, at the begin- 
ning of the century, had transferred its immediate designs across 
the Atlantic, was consolidating itself anew in the Northern States 
of America, with a wealth, an organization, an audacity, an 
extent, to which it never aspired in the lands of its birth, and 
was preparing to make the United States, after crushing all law 
there under its brute will, the fulcrum whence they should extend 
their lever to upheave every legitimate tlu'one in the Old World. 
Hither, by emigration, flowed the radicalism, discontent, crime, 
and poverty of Europe, until the people of the Northern States 
became, lil^e the rabble of Imperial Rome, the colluvies gentium. 
The miseries and vices of their early homes had alilce taught 
them to mistake license for liberty, and they were ' incapable of 



100 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

comprcliendiDg, much more of loving, the enlightened structure 
of English or Virginian freedom. The fii'st step in their vast 
designs Vas to overwhelm the Conservative States of the South. 
This done, they boasted that they would proc<3cd, first, to engross 
the whole of the American continent, and then to emancipate 
Ireland, to turn Great Britain into a democracy, to entlu'one Red 
Republicanism in France, and to give the crowns of Germany to 
the Pantheistic humanitarians of that race, who deify self as the 
supreme end, and selfish desire, as the authoritative expression 
of the Divine Will. This, in truth, was the monster whose 
terrific pathway among the nations, the Confederate State.; 
undertook to obstruct, in behalf not only of their own childi-en. 
but of all the children of men. 

To fight this battle, eleven millions, of whom four millions 
were the poor Africans, lately feeble savages, prepared to meet 
twenty millions. The gigantic adversary was not impeded by 
distance, but lay everywhere alongside his proposed ■yctim, 
ready to grasp liim with his long arms. He held prepared, a 
veteran army of twenty thousand men, a navy, and vast arseiials 
and armories; while the Confederate States had everything 
to create. He had the administration of all the departments 
of a government ; he had revenues, a treasury recruited perpet- 
ually with the gold of the modern Ophir, and huge accumulations 
of financial Avcalth : they had none. In his favor was a great 
commercial iparine, second to none in the world, and manufac- 
tories teeming with productive labor fostered by the previous 
oppression and taxation of the South ; while she had agricultural 
communities, possessing only the rudiments of commerce and 
of the arts. And to sustain these elements of Northern power, 
there was the well-known pertmacity of the Yankee character, 
infuriated now by a sectional hatred all the more incredible 
because unprovoked, and by a fanaticism set on fire of hell. 



ODDS AGAINST CONFEDERATES. 161 

But had tliis been all the odds which the Confederate States 
had to meet, then' prowess would, before this, have ended the 
contest. The ships of the Federals, availing themselves of the 
avarice and injustice of Europe, made all the workshops, ship- 
yards, and factories of the Old World tributary to their malice. 
The radicals, the p-oletaires, the robbers, the outlaws, of all 
other lands, flocked to their standards, taught by their ready 
instincts that their cause was the same. One-half of the 
prisoners of war, registered by the victorious armies of the 
South, have been foreign mercenaries. Mr. Smith O'Brien, 
warning his race against the unhallowed enterprise, declares that 
the Moloch of Federal ambition has already sacrificed two 
hundred thousand Lishmen to it. And still, as the flaming 
sword of the South mows down these hireliag invaders, fresh 
hordes throng the shores. Last, our country has to wage this 
strife, only on these cruel terms, that the blood of her cliivalrous 
sons shall be matched against the sordid streams of this cloaca 
yopulorum. In the words of Lord Lindsay, at Flodden Field, 
we must play our " Rose Nobles of gold, against crooked 
sijspences." 

So that the Confederate States, while, in truth, fighting for tho 
cause of the world, have the whole world to fight against. But 
how has their heroism been regarded from without ? It must be 
declared (and this fact completes the grandeur of their attitude), 
that while thus bleeding for the common behoof of mankind, 
they have received aid from none, even idle sympathy from 
few, and only neglect and injustice from the governments of 
Europe. Men have seen fit to adopt the slanders of our 
known enemies as the only description of our institutions, and 
have refused us the poor privilege which even the criminal has, 
of being heard before he is condemned. The word slave-ovmer 
has been the talisman to evoke everywhere an ignorant prejudice, 

21 



162 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

too conceited to learn correction ; and men have been -willing to 
accept the rendering which it suits the malice of our enemies to 
give, falsely, as they know — that we arc contending, not to pre- 
serve our own freedom, but to perpetuate the bondage of our 
fellow-men, unjustly enslaved. It is by this device our enemies 
have sought to hide the enormity of their attacks, and to rob us 
of even the sympathy of mankind. The Confederate States 
have, indeed, never complained of the refusal of aid to fight their 
battles, for they have never asked it. But they have a right to 
complam, that the interested slanders of their enemies should be 
echoed abroad without even examination ; that the moral support 
of a recognition should be withheld, when it is a historical fact that 
the independence of several of tliose same States was recognized 
by all Europe eighty years ago, and, as is known to all the 
world, has never since been forfeited ; that the maritime law, so 
recently and solemnly established for all nations, should be com- 
pelled to receive a new and deceitful interpretation for the 
benefit of our enemies, the moment it began to apply in our 
favor ; and that a pretended neutrality should be so observed, as 
to make every advantage accrue to them. The people of the 
South well know, that, if they are overwhelmed, the greedy 
democracy, whose threats have exacted from the European gov- 
ernments these shabby compliances, will make them in due time 
rue their short-sighted injustice ; but this is the concern of their 
people ; ours is to endure, and to strive to the death. 

The great career of Jackson is identified with the cause of 
Southern independence. To this he committed himself with 
solemn prayers and searchings of heart, ready, if he should die 
m this quarrel, to present his soul confidently before the judg- 
ment-bar, and ask the Divine approval. In it he wrought all his 
world-famous exploits. In it he died, professing in the Tast 
struiide the same confidence in the righteousness of the war. 



MERITS OP THE CASE. 163 

If then the secession of Virginia was a crimej Jackson was tlie 
most amazing of self-'deceivcrs, or the most profound of hypo- 
crites. Therefore, his character cannot be appreciated; nor its 
fame receive its just estim.ate from history, without a full under- 
standing of the raerits of the case. This is the reason that the 
reader's attention has been so largely occupied with an exposition 
of it, and for this reason he is besought to weigh these conclud- 
ing arguments. 

First, The most determined anti-slavery man, if he have fair- 
ness of mind, will grant, when he understands the case, that 
African slavery is not the cause, but only the occasion, of tho 
Southern resistance. The cause for which this people contend is 
constitutional right. It is but a circumstance that the right to 
the labor of their slaves happened to be the particular in which 
the sacred authority of law was assailed j and it may be asked, 
How can it appear that the object of the. South was to perpetu- 
ate the bondage of the African, unless it appear that the object 
of Northern aggression was to end that bondage ? But the 
Black Republican party expressly declared, that they proposed 
no interference with slavery in the States. Their defenders can 
only rescue them from this logical dilemma, by imputing to them 
deliberate falsehood on this point. They only proposed to limit 
the African population to its present home, so that their policy 
would not have made one slave less in all America, unless by so 
enhancing the miseries of their condition as to exterminate a 
part. Nor would the demand of the South, that the African 
race should be allowed to labor in the new domain, if granted, 
have made one slave more in all America, unless it had done it 
by ameliorating their condition, so as to save some alive who 
otherwise would have perished. Clearly, then, the policy of 
free-soil was not friendship to the black man, but only enmity to 
his white pi'otector, and desire to rule over him. 



IG-i LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

But further, Black Republicanism is a system of intense hos- 
tility to the African race. Its inconsistency can only be equalled 
by its inhumanity. It persists in saying, contrary to the Consti- 
tution of the United States, that the African is a citizen of the 
Union; but it forbids these black fellow-citizens to enjoy the 
common territory in any form. It says they must not come as 
slaves, in the mode best adapted to their present welfare (as the ' 
most of the Black Republicans admitted). It says also, that 
they must not come as free negroes ; for every Black Republican 
State, formed out of the national tcrritorj^, with perhaps a single 
exception, has legislated sternly and absolutely against the immi- 
gration of this unfortunate class ; and, of course, new States to 
be formed under the same creed, may be expected to do the 
same. In a word. Black Republicanism always means, that the 
African shall not exist at all on American soil. The uniform 
shibboleth of the party was the assertion, that this continent must 
belong exclusively to the white race. The proposal universally 
made by its demagogues to the agrarian hordes whom they 
deceived, was not: "Let us overthrow the institutions of the 
South, in order that you may share its industry with free negro 
competitors;" but, "Let us overthrow the institutions of the 
South, in order that you may exclude the negro from its indus- 
try, and take his place." If they were pointed to the wretched 
and waning caste of free blacks in the North, as proof that this 
race cannot thrive in competition with the whites, without the 
protection of domestic slavery, and asked what was to be the 
destiny of the millions of Africans, when their policy of free- 
soil was everywhere established; the usual answer was a sar- 
donic shrug, and the sneering declaration, that this was no 
concern of theirs. Others, more candid, pointed for answer, to 
the fate of the Indian tribes, who have wasted to nothing before 
the greater energies and crimes of the white race ; and coolly 



SOUTHERN RESISTANCE JUST. 165 

said, that the Africans, deprived of the fostering shield of that 
southern slavery, under which they were now thriving so happily, 
must tend to extinction, under the pressure of their own miseries 
and degradation ; and then the whole Union would bo free, pros- 
perous, and glorious, (?) belonging to the white man alone. 
Such was the hideous meaning of Black Republicanism, to 
oppress and enslave the humane master, in order to exterminate 
the contented and comfortable servant ! 

Any honest man, who has been so unlucky as to imbibe the 
false dogma, that the relation of master and slave is essentially 
unrighteous, will therefore admit, if he knows the truth, that 
the citizen of the Confederate States is not contending, in this 
quarrel, to perpetuate an unjust oppression. He will say : " Be 
the relation wrong as it may, it was not instituted by the Con- 
federates, nor at their option, but by the greed of the Federal 
and British slave-traders, and the tyranny of Great Britain, 
thrusting the Africans upon the unwilling colonies. These 
citizens found it existing, recognized by the laws, guaranteed 
by the Constitution which the people of the North were pledged 
to observe, and which alone gave them any riglit to legislate for 
the South. It was, therefore, natural, yea right, that they should 
resist these usurpations j and the more, as they saw that the 
motive was, not to exalt the slave, but to oppress the master ; 
to trample upon the liberties of the latter, in order to visit upon 
the former, a fate a thousandfold worse than slavery — lingering 
extermination." 

But every citizen of the Confederate States, in the second 
place, like General Jackson, would disdain to argue this cause 
from the premiss, that the relation of the master to his slave is 
unrighteous in itself They assume the high position that this 
relation is, for their circumstances, as innocent and lawful in 
itself as any other relation of government, and recognized as 



IGG LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

such by God and sound ethics, as well as by all the laws of 
their country. When pointed to the almost universal condem- 
nation of this proposition by the rest of Christendom, they 
boldly declare, that this results from an exclusion of the South- 
ern people from a hearing in their own defence, and a perverse 
and indolent reception from their enemies, of the most monstrous 
tissue of slanders and falsehoods, which ever confounded a 
human mind. The world has been told a myriad times 
until the world believes it, that Virginian slavery makes a 
human being a chattel, a piece of property, thus violating the 
first intuitions of justice. Yet, all this is absolutely false; 
every slave-law of Virginia treats the slave as a person, a 
responsible, reasonable being, and not a tiling ; the only prop- 
erty which the laws recognize in him, is the property in his 
involuntary labor. And if the involuntary labor of a human 
being cannot be property, then every parent, husband, and 
master of an apprentice, in the civilized world, is made a trans- 
gressor. It is uniformly asserted that slavery proceeds upon 
the assumption that it is the master's privilege to expend and 
exhaust the labor, welfare, and very being of his fellow-man, 
for his own selfish behoof, without equivalent; and that hence, 
it is a flagrant violation of that great law of love and equity, 
the golden rule. All this is alsolutely false : this form of servi- 
tude is defended only on the ground, demonstrated so fully by 
experience, that it secures for the servant the greatest practica- 
ble amount of well-being. The laws all make the duties and 
benefits of the relation reciprocal, and oblige the master to 
render to his servant a liberal return for his labor, in the form 
of a life-long maintenance of himself and his family, secured 
against every contingency of decrepitude and sickness ; just as 
much as they oblige the servant to render his labor to his master. 
That this is, in the general, a better recompense than the 



FALSEHOODS REPELLED. 1G7 

African could "win as a free negro, is the justification always 
pleaded. 

It has been charged that Virginian slavery makes the master 
the irresponsible possessor of the chastity of the female slave. 
Tins is again an absolute falsehood ; the law fences around the 
chastity of the servant, even against the violence of her own 
master, by the same sanctions which protect that of the white 
lady. It has been charged that the laws of Virginia forbid the 
slave to lift his hand for the defence of life or limb, in obedience 
to the instincts of self-preservation, against any white man. 
This is absolutely false ; while the laws require the servant to 
accept the chastisement of his master, they recognize- in him the 
same discretion of self-defence, even against his owner, when 
assailed in life and limb, which is granted to the white freeman. 
It has been said that we prohibit the slave all access to letters, 
and do not permit him to learn to read even the book of life. 
This, again, is unmingled falsehood ; there is no law in Virginia, 
forbidding a master to teach his slaves literature ; and as many 
of them can read, and do read God's "Word, as of the agricultural 
peasantry of boasted England. It has been said that Virginian 
slavery forbids the marital and parental relations among slaves, 
consigning them to a brutal concubinage, like that of animals. 
In the sense charged, this is absolutely false; conjugal and 
parental bliss is as much recognized, and as little interrupted 
among them, as among any people of the same civilization. It 
has been said that their discipline and treatment are inhuman. 
This is transcendently false. No peasantry on earth is treated 
with as mucJa humanitj'-, and bears tasks so light. There are 
instances of barbarity, even of murder ; but they are punished by 
the laws and public opinion, at least as regularly as any crimes 
against free persons in this country. Are there no cases of wife- 
murder, and child-murder, in New and Old England? It is 



1G8 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

asserted, in ten tliousand forms, that slavery has degraded the 
African : but this is also false : it has civilized and elevated him, 
more rapidlj than any other philanthropy has raised any pagan 
race in the world. 

This introduces the affirmative truth, that the relation of 
servitude is a righteous, because a beneficent one, for the African 
among "white men. Let the tree be known by its fruits. It has 
conferred a higher physical well-being than is enjoyed by any 
other laboring population, as is proved by their, increase of 
numbers, cheerfulness, and immunity from bodily infirmities. 
Tlic Virginian servant is lifted in the scale of manhood so high 
above his fellows of the African wilds, that, when by rare chance 
he meets them, he is ashamed and indignant at the assertion of a " 
community of race. American servitude has made nearly half a 
million out of four millions (one in eight) members of Christian 
churches, from being, three generations ago, besotted Pagans. 
All the Christian philanthropy of the rest of the world has not 
done as much for heathendom. Our system has created an affec- 
tionate union between the two races, elsewhere so hostile, which 
has astounded our enemies and the world, with their quietude in 
these tunes of convulsion. 

And when we look into the ethics of the relation, wc find 
that it was never suspected of immorality by any of the great 
masters of moral science, classic or scholastic, nor by any of 
tlic luminaries of the Church, patristic or reformed, until the 
dogma of modern abolition was born of atheistic parentage, 
amidst the radical disorganizers of France, in the Reign of 
Terror. In the Word of God, the only infallible standard 
of morality, that doctrine finds no support. Moses legalized 
domestic slavery for God's chosen people, in tlie very act of 
setting them aside to holiness. Christ, the great Reformer, 
lived and moved amidst it, teaching, healing, applauding slave- 



SECESSION JUSTIFIABLE. 169 

holders ; and while He assailed every abuse, uttered no word 
against this lawful relation. His apostles admit slaveholders 
to the church, exacting no repentance nor renunciation. They 
leave, by inspiration, general precepts for the manner in which 
the duties of the relation are to be maintained. They command 
Christian slaves to obey and honor Christian masters. They 
remand the runaway to his injured owner, and recognize his 
property in his labor as a right which they had no power to 
infringe. If slavery is in itself a sinful thing, then the Bible is 
a sinful book. 

Strong in the truth of God and history, the people of the 
Confederate States therefore calmly breast the adverse opinion 
of the world. They fortify their position by the fact that their 
right to the labor of their slaves is not only protected by the 
laws they inherited from their fathers, but by the laws of God, 
and by eternal rectitude. Had they been unable to assert the 
latter truth, their resistance to anti-slavery aggressions would 
have been proper ; because the Constitution, which alone united 
the States, recognized and protected it. But now their attitude 
is in every respect impregnable ; for God protects it as well as 
the Constitution. To infringe the rights of slaveholders under 
the laws, was -therefore a usurpation, and a violation of the 
primary compact. But a covenant broken by one party is 
broken for the other. The Southern States therefore had tlie 
clearest right to select their own redress. And especially is 
their secession justified, when the malignant intentions of the 
aggressors, and the ruinous nature of the wi'ongs they sought to 
inflict, are considered. Their purposes were evidently ruthless ; 
they intended nothing less than our destruction. He who has 
observed the silent, yet potent influence of opinion on the con- 
duct of political bodies, well knows how absurd would be the 
expectation, that the Southern people could consent to lie under 

22 



170 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

the stigma of a social crime, and of a standing moral delinquency, 
and yet expect to receive of tlieii- supercilious accusers, equal 
and fair treatment in a political partnership. The sentjment of 
contempt and superiority will inevitably express itself in at- 
tempted domination. Had the dogma, which asserted the immo- 
rality of our institutions, professed itself the most unpractical 
abstraction, the South would have been wise and righteous in 
saying to the North : " It is time to part ; we cannot live peace- 
ably together." 

But that sentiment was intensely practical. It proposed no 
less than to uproot our whole society, to plunder our citizens, at 
one stroke, of more than a' thousand millions of their property, 
and thus to impoverish the whole land ; to hurl back the pros- 
perous and happy African race to barbarism, crime, and misery ; 
to turn our plantations into one vast jungle, and our cities into 
deserted ruins ; and to people this blighted region with a dis- 
pirited and disorderly medley of bankrupt whites, and degraded 
black savages. The people of the South laiow the African 
character. They have seen the bitter fruits of a general eman- 
cipation ; and they well know that this pictui'e of the results of 
Yankee usurpation would be verified in every lineament. If, 
then, self-preservation can ever justify resistance, in this instance 
it was a righteous, a sacred duty. Now the form of resistance 
adopted by the Southern people was the most moderate and 
equitable that could be conceived. A covenant repudiated by 
one party is annulled for the other. It was the Constitution of 
the United States alone, whicli constituted the Union, and gave 
any right to the Northern States to legislate for the South. 
When the former declared, as the North in substance did, that 
their conscience forbade their fulfilling the obligations of that 
covenant for the protection of slavery, the only conclusion to 
which honesty could have led them was this: Let the parties 



ABOLITION NECESSITATED SEPARATION. 171 

then separate, and restore to each other their mutual mclepen- 
dence. Aiid this was the very least which the most Christian 
forbearance on the part of the South could ask. But this was 
precisely what the South demanded, in claiming the riglit of 
peaceable withdrawal. Teclniical justice would have authorized 
her to say to the North: "You have bargained; you have ap- 
propriated the advantages of the bargain, and you shall be com- 
pelled to stand to its terms, whether you like them or not." It 
would have sustained her in demanding reparation for the heavy 
wrongs ali'cady sustained. It would have sanctioned her claim 
to the properties of the Union, which the North had really de- 
serted, and not the South. But she asked none of these thuigs ; 
she made only the modest request to have her pledges restored, 
since they were so irksome to her partner, and to be let alone. 
But this the North refused ; theii' claim was that they should be 
free to violate the mutual compact whenever its conditions were 
irksome to their interests, or passions or caprice, and absolutely 
vital to the- rights of the South, while we, theii- equals, should 
yet be held to it at the point of the sword, and under the thi-eat 
of the most atrocious outrages ever visited by barbarians on 
their victims ! Was ever the ear of a just God vexed with 
wickedness more monstrous than this ? " It is ranli, and smells 
to heaven." 

But, it is objected, the sectional party ' which had seized the 
general government, disclaimed the purpose of forcible emanci- 
pation in the States ; and the South, in resisting, took counsel of 
tlieir own angry suspicious alone. The crushing refutation of 
this plea is given by the developments of the Black Republican 
party since. In three years, they have attempted to consummate 
every out^-age which the statesmen of the South imputed to their 
ulterior intentions ; yea, they have left no tyranny or usurpation 
untried, which the wildest suspicion could have imagined. Thus 



172 LIFE OP UEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

liavG tlicy themselves justified the resistance of tlic South to God 
and man, and made it clearer than the sun, that it was not one 
whit too early or too strenuous. 

The gi*eat charge made against the South bj the Northern 
Democrats was, that she had sought defence by leaving the 
Union, instead of remaining in it, and trusting to their great 
conservative party for the protection of their rights. Said they : 
'' We guarantee you, in the Union, every privilege which the 
Constitution gives you ; but if you attempt to leave it, we become 
your enemies." On this pretext that party have, with a base- 
ness beyond that of the Black Republicans, betrayed every 
principle of their own creed, to join them in their persecution of 
us. Our answer is in the question: Have they been able to 
protect their own rights in that Union ? And, is this the extent 
of oiu- offence, that we were not willing to commit our precious 
liberties to the sole guardianship of those who have surrendered 
every right of their own, without one blow in their defence, 
with a folly and poltroonery unexampled in the history of reptiles, 
not to say of men, at the first demand of a despicable and upstart 
despotism? Never was there a rejoinder so biting or so right- 
eous as that which the cowardice of the Northern Democracy 
puts into our mouths, against this, their favorite accusation. 
For, which of the privileges of freemen is it which we have not 
seen them betray in their own . case ; freedom from illegal arrest, 
the benefit of the writ of habeas corpus, liberty of speech, liberty 
of printing, free ' and untrammelled suffrage, liberty of con- 
science in the worship of God, rights of property, or freedom of 
their own persons from military rule ? 

It has been clamorously asserted that the insolence of the 
South in taking the aggressive by the fii'st acts of viojence, and 
firing upon the national flag, left the Government no option, con- 
sistent with self-respect, save to resist. The statement is false. 



REDUCTION OP FORT SUMTER AN ACT OF SELF-DEFENCE. 173 

Tlie violation of the Federal compact by tlie North, restored to 
the South its inherent right to a peaceable withdrawal ; and they 
who attempted to obstruct it were the first aggressors. The 
first act of war was committed by the Government at "Washing- 
ton against South Carolina, when fortresses intended lawfully 
only for her protection, were armed for her sul3Jugation. That 
act of war was repeated, when armed preparations were twice 
made to reinforce these means of her oppression. And, at last, 
when she was imperiously warned that these forcible aggressions 
would be consummated, after a forbearance far greater than the 
Confederate Government was bound to exercise, it proceeded to 
what was an act of strict self-defence, the reduction of Fort 
Sumter.* 



* Fort Sumter has become so celebrated, both by its being the scene of the 
first hostilities between the contending parties, and by the splendid and success- 
ful defence -which it has since made in the hands of the Confederates, against 
the fleet and armies of the North, that the whole story connected with its origi- 
nal capture deserves to be better known than it is, generally, in Europe. It was 
on December 20, 1860, that the Stale of South Carolina, by the unanimous vote 
of a Convention, called by her Legislature, formally seceded from the Union. 
At this time Major R. Anderson was commandant of the Federal forces at 
Charleston. His head-quarters were at Fort Moultrie on the mainland ; Fort 
Sumter, the strongest of all the defences, and placed in the middle of the bay, 
not being occupied. A grand banquet was given in honor of the Ordinance of 
Secession, on the evening of the day (Dec. 20), on which it passed. At mid- 
night, Anderson, who must have received secret orders how to act, having spiked 
the guns, abandoned Moultrie, and conveyed all his men and stores to Sumter. 
Next morning, to the amazement of the South Carolinians, they saw the Union 
flag floating over it, and found Anderson in possession. As was to be expected, 
this act of treachery greatly incensed them ; for the authorities of South Caro- 
lina had received a pledge from President Buchanan that the existing military 
status should undergo no change in their State, during the expiring term of his 
administration. That pledge was violated by this seizure and military occupa- 
tion of Sumter ; and, notwithstanding all remonstrances, Buchanan, probably 
under the pressure of Northern clamor, refused to order Anderson back again 
to Moultrie. The Secretary of War, J. B, Floyd, who had been a party to the 
promise, felt his honor so compromised by this gross breach of faith, that he 
instantly and indignantly resigned. Immediately after Mr. Lincoln had entered 



174 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

"But, it is replied, the Seceding States made tliemsclves 
robbers, by seizing Federal sliips, posts, arms, and money, by 
violence ! It may be asked in rejoinder : Had the South no 
share in these appliances, provided with her money, and, when 
in her borders, having no other legitimate use than her defence ? 
But she did not secede in order to commit a robbery. The 
proof is, that her ambassadors haunted the gates of the Federal 
Capitol for months, entreating to be permitted to make an 
equitable settlement of all these properties, until they were 
spurned away. And why Avere they forcibly seized, except that 
she was well assured the purpose was entertained to employ 
them for her ruin ? Our neighbor and partner attempts to 
obstruct us in the prosecution of our unquestionable rights, by 

on his office as President, in March 1861, Commissioners from the South pro- 
ceeded to Washington, to urge a peaceable separation, and to negotiate for the 
transfer of Government property, and, in particular, for the removal of the 
Federal garrison from Forts Pickens and Sumter. But under the pretext that 
to treat -svith them avowedly and officially might embarrass the administration 
of :Mr. Lincoln, they wei*e assured through an intermediate party, that all would 
yet be Avell, that the military status of the South' would be imdisturbed, and 
that Sumter would be evacuated. These assurances were given by Secrctaiy 
Seward himself, verbally and in writing, through Judge Campbell of the 
Supreme Court ; but they were only meant to deceive. There never was any 
intention to keep faith, or to evacuate Sumter. It was a dishonest manoeuvre 
to gain time for collecting armaments, and preparing coercive measures. The 
military reinforcement of Sumter was pronounced by General Scott, and other 
advisers of Lincoln, to be impracticable, except bj' artifice or surprise. Hence 
the deceit practised, to throw the Confederates off their guard. Meanwhile 
unusual activity was perceptible in the Northern dockyards and depots. Even 
down to the 7th of April, it was pretended that the evacuation would take 
placi;. 

Oa that very daj'. Judge Campbell, uneasy as to ^Ir. Seward's good faith, 
wrote to him on the subject, and received the emphatic reply : — " Faith as to 
Sumter fully kept — icait and see." The very next day (April Sth) the expedi- 
tion started to convey <' provisions to a starving garrison ; " but it consisted cf 
eleven vessels, with an aggregate force of 285 guns, and 2 100 men. It arrived 
in time to witness the bombardment and fall of Sumter on April 13th ; lying at 
anchor, in the distance, duruig the action, and never firing a gun. The people 



THE SOUTH NO BOBBER. 175 

brandisliing a dagger before our eyes, purchased partly with our 
money. When we wrench it from his liand to save our own 
lives, shall he accuse us of stealing his dirk ? Yet such was the 
insulting nonsense which was everywhere vented to make the 
South an offender for acts of self-defence, which the wicked 
designs of the tyranny at Washington justified more and more 
every day. 

All the pretexts of coercion have thus been reviewed and 
exposed. The crime of the North stands forth without excuse, 
and black with every trait of guilt. Its motive, impiously 
cloaked under the sacred profession of sustaining the law, was 
to replace, by the more speedy means of the armed hand, that 
legislative and commercial plunder which had been so long 
practised, and to indulge a festering hatred. Its perpetrators 
were the people who claimed the largest share of the light and 
religiousness of the nineteenth century. Its victims were not 
aliens, but countrymen, bretliren, and fellow-citizens. Its conduct 

of Charleston had put the intended surprise out of the question ; but the Lin- 
coln Administration, nevertheless, accomplished one great object for %vhich they 
had been scheming. They had procured the battle of Sumter ; they had got the 
South to take the initiatory step of resistance. Henceforth the Federal Govern- 
ment, while in reality commencing a war which they had fully resolved upon, 
could make it appear that they were involved in it by the force of circumstances, 
rather than of their own choice, and that the South having fired the first shot 
was responsible for all the consequences. Such was the impression produced, 
and intended to be produced, in Europe ; while the attack on the national flag, 
it was foreseen, could not fail to stir public sentiment to its lowest depth, and 
create a united war party in the North. Hence it was enough that the Federal 
forces in Sumter should make a mere show of resistance. Anderson accord- 
ingly just held the place as long as the rules of military honor required, and 
then surrendered it unconditionally, without having lost a man ; whilst the 
fleet looked on, at a distance, and never attempted to come to his aid. We are 
entitled therefore to repudiate the charge of having commenced the war, by 
making the first appeal to arms. Granted that the first shot was fired by the 
South, the first military aggression was on the side of the North. The Federal 
Government are responsible for all. 



176 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

has embodied every barbarity wliicli could be practised by IIiui, 
or Yandal, or Scythian. It has already shed more human blood, 
and crushed more hearts, than any war of modern ages. Recit- 
ing all these aggravations, the people of the Confederate States 
believe that no blacker national crime has challenged the 
lightning of heaven's wrath; therefore it is, that among this 
people, the best men are most resolved to resist it. If there 
are any of the children of the soil who excuse it, they are either 
the cowards, or the stupidly ignorant, or the mercenary, whose 
souls arc bartered for filthy lucre. Every pure and noble man, 
like Jackson, every most devout soldier, the generous Southern 
women, the virtuous and cultivated citizens, the incorruptible 
judges of the law, the venerable and holy ministers of religion, 
these have committed their lives, and fortunes, and sacred honor, 
to the defence of the Confederate States, as one man. 



PIEST CAMPAIGN IN THE VALLEY. 177 



CHAPTER VI. 

FIRST CAMPAIGN EST THE VALLEY. 

The reduction of Fort Sumter aroused at the North a general 
paroxj^sm of furj and revenge. Wherever there was enough 
of the spirit of moderation and justice to dissent, violent mobs 
were collected, which intimidated not only the press, but the 
pulpit, and exacted a pretended approval of the war-frenzy. 
The cry was, that the flag of the Union had been insulted, the 
Government assailed by treason, and the very life of tlie nation 
threatened. But even then, the enormity of the purposed crime 
of subduing free and equal States by violence, was so palpably 
felt, that the public mind, passionate as it was, acknowledged the 
necessity for a pretext. This was found in the false assertion 
that the Confederate States had inaugurated war, and thus 
justified a resort to force, — a misrepresentation which hag 
ali-eady been refuted. It was claimed for the North, that its 
temper was just and pacific; and the contrast between tlie 
seeming calmness of her people- before, and their tumultuous 
excitement after the first conflict, was pointed to as proof thai 
they meditated no violence, and were only driven to a forcible 
defence of the Government, by the wickedness of the South. But 
the true explanation of the tempest is, that the North had just 
awakened to the fact, of which it was incredulous before, that the 
South was in earnest in the assertion of its rights. The difficulty 
of believing this arose in part from the many concessions of right 

23 



178 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEN'ERAL .JACKFON-. 

whicli the long-suffering South had made, from her long-continued, 
but futile expostulations, together with the ill-judged and passion- 
ate threats which her wrongs had often provoked from some of 
her politicians, and, in part, from the unspeakable vanity of the 
Nortli, and its overweening conceit of its own power. The whole 
preparation of the Confederate States for self-defence, and the 
solemn warnings uttered by Virguiia and the other Border States, 
were mocked at as only a new phase of political manoeuvre. 
Often they affected a sort of good-natured forbearance, and spoke 
of not " whipping the spoiled children back into the Union," until 
they were obliged to do it. In the political slang which degraded 
the deliberations of the Capitol, it was currently asserted that 
those States " could not be kicked out of the Union." But, now, 
the North awoke out of this insane di^am of delusion, to find 
that the South meant, and always had meant, wliat it said. Two 
pm-poses had long since grown up, and become fixed in the 
Northern mind: One was, not to surrender the legislative 
plunder which they had long gathered from the South, and which 
would be lost to them by its independence ; the other was, not to 
make it contented in the Union, by a just concession of its rights. 
So long as the South could be kept quiet by mock compromises 
.which secured it nothing, and by wheedling words, the North 
was very willing to expend these cheap means for that end ; but 
so soon as it learned that the South was at last in earnest in 
asserting its rights, it became thoroughly in earnest also. The 
ruthless purpose of domination was at once revealed. Not only 
did the fi-agment of the Federal Government diligently prepare 
for a great war, but the people and the States began to provide 
munitions and raise troops, on a vast scale. 

The prognostications indulged by speakers and newspapers, 
were as vainglorious, as their purposes were revengeful. The 
common language brcatlied threatening and slaughter, and 



PREPAEATIONS FOR DEFENCE. 179 

demanded tlie sack, ruin, and extermination of the Southern 
people. To effect this, they thought the mighty North had only 
to lift up its little finger. The South was disdainfully described 
as poor, semi-barbarian, cowardly, unfiu-nished for war, and sunk 
in effeminacy; and the common expectation was, that nothing 
more was needed to wrap the whole country in the flames of a 
servile insurrection, than the signal of a Yankee invasion. In 
this spirit, equally fool-hardy and fiendish, the North rushed to 
the tremendous conflict. 

Before Virginia seceded, the sword had been definitively 
di'awn; indeed, it was this crime, which decided her to assert 
her independence. The legislative act was therefore accom- 
panied, and immediately followed, by prompt preparations for 
defence. 

The only standing army which the State possessed, was a 
single company of soldiers, who guarded the public property of > 
the Commonwealth at the Capitol. Her old militia system, 
which only required tln-ee exceedingly perfunctory drills a year, 
had, for some time, fallen into desuetude, and was just ^revived. 
The State had no men, who possessed any tincture of military 
training, except a few volunteer companies in her cities, and a 
few hundred alumni of the military academies at West Point and 
Lexington. Yery few of these companies were armed. The 
armory of the State was in decay, its machinery rusting, and its 
arsenal only furnished with a few thousand muskets of anti- 
quated make. The enterprise of private citizens, and the spirit 
of the country, more advanced than that of their rulers, had in- 
deed led to the arming of a number of volunteer companies, 
after the attack of John Brown ; and for these, a few thousand 
rifles had been purchased by the parties themselves. But the 
authorities of the State now set themselves, in earnest, to repair 
these omissions. The Convention, having passed the Ordinance 



180 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

of Secession the 1 7th of April, proceeded to appoint a Council 
of Three, to assist the Governor of the Commonwealth in his 
military duties. Orders vrcvo issued to the volunteer companies, 
"R'hich "were springing into existence in every part of the State, 
to assemble in camps of instruction. The manufacture of can- 
non, projectiles, and muskets "was resumed. Colonel Robert E. 
Lee, having resigned his commission from the Federal Govern- 
ment, had been invited to Richmond, immediately after the •with- 
di-a^wal of Virginia, and offered his services to his native State. 
His high character, patriotism, professional Imowledge, and exec- 
utive ability, ■were, fortunately, appreciated, and he "was at once 
appointed Major-Gencral and Commander-in-Chief of all the 
forces of the Commonwealth, by land and sea. Under his 
vigorous and sagacious management, order instantly began to 
arise out of chaos, and the excited masses of patriotic citizens 
assumed the proportions of an army. The most important of 
the camps of instructioci was that named after him. Camp Lee, 
a mile beyond the western suburbs of Richmond. Here, several 
thousands of volunteers were assembled; and, to provide for 
their instruction, it was resolved to bring the more advanced 
Cadets of the Military School from Lexington, to perform the 
duties of di'ill-serjeants. The senior teachers of the school 
were already in Richmond, and this circumstance devolved the 
duty of conducting the cadets tliither upon Major Jackson. 

The bursting of the storm, wliich he had so long foreseen, 
found him calm, but resolved. About this time, a Christian 
friend, in whose society he greatly delighted, passed a night with 
him, and, as they discussed the startling news which every day 
brought with it, they were impelled to the conclusion that the 
madness of the Federal Government had made a great and 
disastrous war inevitable. The guest retired to his bed de- 
pressed by this thought, and, in the morning, arose harassed and 



HIS LABORS IN PREPARATION. 181 

melancholy. But, to liis surprise, Jackson met him at the morning 
worship, as calm and cheerful as ever, and when he expressed 
his a,nxieties, replied, " Why should the peace of a true Cln^is- 
tian be disturbed by anj^hing which man can do unto him? 
Has not God promised to make all things work together for 
good to them that love him ? "' 

The county of Rockbridge, like the rest of the State, was in 
a blaze of excitement, and its volunteers were arming and hur- 
rying to the scene of action. Now it was that the hold which, 
notwithstanding his reputation for singularity. Major Jackson 
had upon the confidence of his countrymen, revealed itself. To 
his practical wisdom and energy they looked, in every difficulty 
of their organization and equipment. These calls, with the care 
of the Military Academy, occupied all his time. On Wednes- 
day, April 17th, the presbytery of Lexington met in his church 
to hold its semi-annual session. These meetings, with their 
frequent opportunities for public worship and preaching, and 
their delightful hospitalities, have ever been, in Virginia, reli- 
gious festivals. Major Jackson had been anticipating this 
reunion with great pleasure, and was preparing to entertain 
some of its members in his house. But the absorbing occupa- 
tions of the week deprived him of every opportunity to attend 
cither their meetings, or their worship. As he retired to rest 
on Saturday night, he remarked that he hoped for a quiet 
Sabbath-day, in which it would be his privilege to worship 
undisturbed, and to participate in the sacrament of the Lord's 
Supper, which was to be dispensed "^in the church; and he re- 
quested tliat politics and the troubles of the country might be 
banished from their conversation, that he might enjoy communion 
with God and his people undisturbed. But at day-break, on 
Sabbath morning, April 21st, an order arrived from the Gov- 
ernor of the State, to march the Cadets that day for Richmond. 



182 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

Having given liis wife some directions touching his own prepa- 
rat'ions for the journey, he immediately hurried to the Institute, 
and busied himself in the arrangements for his pupils' departure. 
One of these was to call upon his pastor, and request him to 
attend at twelve o'clock a. m., to give them some Christian 
counsels and a parting prayer. At eleven o'clock a. m., he 
returned to his house, took a hurried breakfast, and retired 
with his wife to their chamber, where he read the 5tli chapter 
of 2d Corinthians, commencing with the sublime and consoling 
words : '' For we know, that if our earthly house of this taber- 
nacle be dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not 
made with hands, eternal in the heavens." He then knelt, and 
poured out a fervent prayer for themselves and for the country, 
imploring God, in accents choked with tears, if it was compatible 
with His holy will, that the storm might yet be calmed, and war 
averted. He thus departed ; and this happy home he never saw 
again. Although he left his affairs thus unsettled, he never 
asked nor received one day of furlough. From that time, he 
uever lodged one night outside the lines of his command. His 
next return to Lexington was as a corpse, bedewed by a nation's 
tears. After a few days, his family removed, by, his advice, to 
the house of a friend, his furniture was packed, his dwelling- 
house closed, and his servants placed out for tlie war. 

Having mustered the Cadets, and made everything ready for 
their departure, at twelve o'clock, he invited Dr. White to begin 
the religious service which he had requested, remarking signili- 
cantly, "Doctor, we march at one o'clock precisely." This 
hint against an undue prolongation of the worship was so well 
observed, that the services were concluded fifteen minutes before 
that hour. One of his officers, after a few moments' pause, 
approaching him, said : " Major, everything is now ready, may we 
not set out?" To this he made no reply, save to point to the 



HIS LETTERS FROM CAMP LEE. 183 

dial-plate of tlie great clock ; and wlieu it was upon the stroke 
of one, lie gave tlie word : " Forward ! March ! " The corps of 
Cadets was conducted to Staunton, and thence, by railroad, to 
Richmond, and turned over to the commandant of Camp Lee. 
During a momentary pause in their journey, on the eastern 
slope of the Blue Ridge, he wrote to his wife : " Here, as well 
as at other points of the line, the war-spirit is intense. The 
cars had scarcely stopped here before a request was made that 
I would leave a Cadet to drill a company," 

From Richmond he wrote, April 23d: "Colonel Lee of the 
army is here, and has been made Major-GeneraL, His (services) 
I regard as of more value to us than General Scott could render 
as commander." (This was an allusion to a report, by which 
tiie people had just been excited, that General Winfield Scott, 
the conqueror of Mexico, and a son of Virginia, was about to 
return, to espouse the cause of his native State.) "It is under- 
stood that General Lee is to be Commander-in-Chief. I regard 
him as a better officer than General Scott." 

" The Cadets are encamped at the Fair Grounds, which are 
about one and a half miles from the city. We have excellent 
quarters. So far as we can hear, God is crowning our cause 
with success ; but I do not wish to send rumors to you. I will 
try to give facts as they become known ; though I may not have 
time to write more than a line or so. The governor, and others 
holding responsible offices, have not enough time for their duties ; 
they are so enormous at this date." 

The Camp of Instruction near Richmond being in charge of 
another officer. Major Jackson had no respGnsible duties to per- 
form there during his short stay. He was exceedingly anxious 
for active employment ; and, it must be added, distrustful of his 
prospects of obtaining it. For, his acute, though silent perspi- 
cacity taught him plainly enough, that the estimate formed of 



184 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

his po'W'ers by the major part of the people and the autliorities, 
was depreciatory. But he disdained to agitate, or solicit for 
promotion ; and busied himself quietly in assisting, at the camp, 
informally, in the drill and discipline of the mass of new sol- 
diers there collected. One day he was accosted by one of 
these, an entire stranger, who told him that he had just been 
assigned as corporal of the guard for the day, that he was abso- 
lutely ignorant of the details of his duties, that the officer who 
had given him his orders, as ignorant, perhaps, as himself, had 
left him without instructions ; and that seeing, by his uniform, he 
was an officer of rank, he wished to beg him for some aid. 
Major Jackson at once assented. He went with the soldier 
around the whole circuit of sentry-posts, taught him practically 
all the salutes, the challenges, and the instructions to be 
observed, and displayed such thorough knowledge and goodness 
at once, that he declared from that hour Jackson had won not 
only his respect but his love. It was these, not arts of popu- 
larity, but actual virtues, which bound the hearts of his men 
to him. 

When the State had such urgent need of practical talent, it 
was impossible that an officer of j\rajor Jackson's reputation 
should be wholly overlooked. A few days after he reached 
Camp Lee, it was determined by the Executive War Council to 
employ him in the engineer department, with the raulc of Major. 
This arrangement his advocates justly regarded as unfriendly to 
him, for it gave him no actual promotion, while the State was 
showering titles and rank on scores of men who had never seen 
service; and it assigned him a branch of duty for which he 
always professed least taste and qualification. For placing a 
battery, an earthwork, or a line of battle, indeed, his judg-mcnt 
was almost infallible ; but he was no draughtsman, and to set 
him to the drudgery of compiling maps, Avas a sacrifice of his 



JACKSON appointe:) colonel. 185 

reputation and of his higli capacities for coinmand. But as soon 
as this purpose was made known, and before it was reported to 
the Convention for their approval, influential friends from Jack- 
son's native district, by whom his powers were better esteemed, 
remonstrated with the Council, and showed them that he was the 
very man for a post of primary importance for which they were 
then seeking a commander. By their advice, seconded by that 
of Governor Letcher, this appointment was revoked, and he was 
commissioned, Colonel of the Virginia forces, and ordered to 
take command at Harper's Ferry. The next day this appoint- 
ment was sent to tlie Convention for theu' sanction, when some 
one asked, " Who is this Major Jackson, that we are asked to 
commit to him so responsible a post?" "He is one," replied 
the member from Rockbridge, " who, if you order him to hold a 
post, will never leave it alive to be occupied by the enemy." 
The Governor accordingly handed him his commission as Colo- 
nel, on Saturday, April 27th, and he departed at once for his 
command. On the way he wrote thus to his wife : — 

"Winchester, April 2dth. — I expect to leave here about half- 
past two P. M. to-day, for Harper's Ferry. • I am thankful to say 
that an ever-kind Providence, who causes ^all things to work 
together for good to them that love him,' has given me the post 
which I prefer above all others, and has given me an independent 
command. To His name be all the praise. 

" You must not expect to hear i"rom me very often, as I expect 
to have more work than I have ever had, in the same leng-th of 
time, before ; but don't be concerned about me, as an ever-kind 
Heavenly Father will give me all needful aid." 

This letter is a truthful revelation of his character ; on the 
one hand, full of that self-reliance and consciousness of power, 
which made him long for a conspicuous position and an indepen- 
dent command ; and on tlie other, recognizing the gratification of 

24 



18G LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

this wish as a mark of God's favor, and resting upon His aid, 
with an eminent faith, for all his success and fame. 

On tlic lOtli of April, two notable events had occurred in 
Virginia, of which one was the evacuation of the great naval 
depot m Norfolk Harbor by the Federal authorities, after its 
partial destruction j and the other was, the desertion of Harper's 
Ferry. 

This little village, which events have rendered so famous, is 
situated on the tongue of land between the junction of the Po- 
tomac and Shenandoah rivers. The former of these is the 
boundary between Virginia and Maryland. The latter, collect- 
ing its tributaries southwest of Harper's Ferry, in the great 
valley of Virginia, flows northeastward along the western base 
of the Blue Ridge, until it meets the Potojnac where that river 
forces its passage through this mountain range, to find its way 
towards the sea. The abundant water-power, the interior posi- 
tion, and its proximity to a plentiful country, had led to its 
selection by the Federal Government, for the manufacture and 
storing of fire-arms. The banks of the two streams were lined 
with factories, where muskets and rifles of the most approved 
patterns were made in large numbers ; and in the village were 
the arsenals, where many thousands were stored. The space 
between the two rivers is also filled by a mountain of secondary 
elevation, called Bolivar Heights, and on the lower declivities of 
this ridge, as it descends to the .junction of the two streams, the 
town is built in a rambling fashion. East of the Shenandoah 
the Blue Ridge rises immediately from the waters, overlooking 
the village, and the sides of Bolivar Heights. Here the moun- 
tain, lying in the county of Loudoun, is called Loudoun Heights. 
North of it, and across the Potomac, the twin mountain, bearing 
the name of ^Maryland Heights, rises to an equal altitude, and 
commands the whole valley of the Potomac above. From this 



OCCUPATION OF HARPER's FERRY. 187 

descriptioiij it is manifest tliat Harper's Ferry is wortMcss as a 
defensive military post, wben assailed by a large force, unless it 
"vrere also garrisoned by a great army, and supplied witli a vast 
artillery, sufficient to crown all the triangle of mountains which 
surround it, and to connect those crests eflfectually with each 
other. It had never been designed for a fortress, and there was 
notliing whatever of the character of fortifications around it. 
But as a prelimmary point, it was of prime importance to hold 
it, both to protect Virginia against incursions, and to restrict the 
convenience of her enemy. Tlu-ough the gorge opened in the 
Blue Ridge by the Potomac, passes also the Chesapeake and 
Ohio Canal, the great turnpike road from the regions of the 
Upper Potomac to the cities of Washington and Baltimore, and 
the raih'oad,, which constitutes the grand connexion of those 
cities with the coal-fields whence they draw their fuel, and with 
the great West. Besides this, the railroad leading southward to 
Winchester, diverges from Harper's Ferry, and ascends the val- 
ley of the Shenandoah, Hence, the occupation of this point, as 
a focus, was regarded by the government of Virginia, as of 
radical importance, and it was obviously the advanced post of 
all her defences. 

As soon as war became imminent, the minds of the people 
were turned to the value of the arms stored at Harper's Ferry, 
because they were precisely what Virginia lacked. Almost 
without prompting from the authorities, the militia was assem- 
bling in the neighborhood to ca,pture the place ; when the officer 
in command of the Federal guard attempted to destroy the fac- 
tories and arsenals, and fled to Carlisle, in Pennsylvania. His 
designs against the former were abortive, and a quantity of 
machinery and materials, which proved of priceless value to the 
Commonwealth, was rescued ; but when the militia entered the 
village, the storehouses, which had contained thousands of valu- 



188 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

able arms, ■were "vrrappcd in flames. It -was kideed ascertained, 
that the larger part of the muskets were not consumed with the 
buildings, but were stolen and secreted by the inhabitants of the 
place. Of thesCi a few thousands were discovered, hidden in 
evcr}^ conceivable place of concealment, and gathered for the 
State by the officers of the militia, while many of the privates 
armed themselves, by traffic with the venal populace, ileantime, 
other companies of volunteers flocked from the valley of Virginia 
to the place, until the materials of a little army were assembled 
there. . But they were " without form and void." 

It was at this juncture that Colonel Jackson took command. 
He was ordered by Major-General Lee to organize the companies 
of volunteers, assembled at Harper's Ferry, into regiments, and 
to instruct them diligently in military drill and discipline, to 
retain control of the great thoroughfares leading towards Wash- 
ington city, and prevent their use by the Federal authorities for 
oflfensive purposes, even by their partial destruction, if necessary ; 
to urge on the completion of fire-arms out of the materials 
already partially prepared at the factories, until such time as the 
machinery could be removed to the interior ; and to defend the 
soil of Virginia from the invasion threatened from that quarter. 
About this time, there were assembled at Harper's Ferry, 2100 
Virginian troops, with 400 Kentuckiaus, consisting of Imboden's, 
Eogers', Alburti's, and Graves' batteries of field artillery, with 
fifteen' guns of the lightest calibre ; eight companies of cavalry 
without drill or battalion organization, and nearly without arms ; 
and a number of companies of infantry, of which three regiments, 
the 2d, 5th, and 10th, were partially arranged, while the rest had 
no organization. The Convention had just passed a very neces- 
sary law, revoking the commissions of all the militia officers in 
command of volunteer forces ; for their appointments, made long 
before, when the military system of the State was only a name. 



Jackson's government there. 189 

on every conceivable ground of political ^r local popularity, 
were no evidence whatever of fitness for actual command. These 
decapitated generals and colonels were, naturally, disaffected to 
the new order in military affairs. Of discipline there was 
almost none, and the force was apparently about to disintegrate 
and separate as rapidly as it had been gathered. Everybody 
wanted a furlough, for they had come as to a frolic. There was 
no general staff, no hospital, nor ordnance department, and 
scarcely sis rounds of ammunition to the man. 

To this confused mass Colonel Jackson came a stranger hav- 
ing not a single acquaintance in the whole command. He brought 
two of his colleagues in the military school. Major Preston and 
Colonel Massie, who virtually composed his staff, and two young 
men whom he employed as drill-masters. With ttieir aid, his 
energy, impartiality, fairness and courtesy, speedily reduced 
the crude rabble to order and consistency. The little army, like 
the generous young courser, recognized a master in the first 
touch of the reins ; and speedily the restive temper, which had 
been provoked by the incompetent hands that essayed to guide 
it, gave place to joy and docility. The reputation of Colonel 
Jackson as a stark fighter in the Mexican War, laid the 
foundation for his influence ; for, among new soldiers, it clothed 
his person and authority with a fascination which charmed. and 
stimulated their fancy. His justice engaged the approbation 
of every man's conscience ; his unaffected goodness allured their 
love, and, if insuborduiation was attempted, his sternness awed 
them mto submission. Once or twice only some wilful young 
officer made esperunent of resisting his authority ; and then the 
showy brow began to cbngeal with stony rigor, the calm blue 
eye to kindle with that blaze, steady at once and hitense, before 
which every other eye quailed; and his penalties were so 
prompt and inexorable, that no one desired t3 adventure another 



11)0 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GKXEEAL JACIvSON. 

act of disobedience. His force "was ultimately increased hj the 
accession of volunteers from Virginia, and of a few Southern 
troops, to forty-five hundred men. Ammunition -was forAvarded 
to him, additional cannon of heavy calibre were procured, and 
the Pendleton battery, from his own village, afterwards famous 
on many a hard-fought field, was added to his command. 

Several questions of peculiar delicacy were to be handled 
by him. One was the control of the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad. From the western boundary of Maryland to the 
Ohio river^ tliis great thoroughfare passed tlirough the territory 
of Vii'ginia by two branches. It had opened up to the inhab- 
itants valuable access to the eastern cities, which many of them 
prized more than liberties, or the claims of either the Union 
or Vii'ginia. If commercial intercourse along this road were 
hindered, it was feared that the vacillating allegiance of the 
Northwest to the State would be utterly overthrown. Colonel 
Jackson therefore resolved to leave the road uninterrupted for 
all peaceful travel and traffic for the present. 

The Maryland Heights overlooked the village from the north, 
and, if they were occupied by the enemy with artillery, his 
position there would be rendered untenable. But INIarylaud 
then professed to be neutral; it was hoped that she would, 
before long, espouse the cause of the South ; and the authorities 
of Virginia wished to respect her territory, and all her rights, 
so long as she did not become one of our enemies. One 
expedient proposed by General Lee was, to induce Marylanders 
to enlist in the war, in sufficient numbers to hold the crest of 
the mountain, and commit its guardianship to them. But the 
people of that region were too timid and undecided to concur in 
such a plan. Another was, to postpone the occupancy of the 
mountain until the near approach of the enemy rendered it a 
military necessity; when this would constitute the justification 



EECOMJIENDS A DESPERATE RESISTAXCE. 191 

of tlie act. But against this the obvious objection lay, that the 
enemy's advance might be too sudden to permit those prepa- 
rations Vk^hich were necessary to make the post tenable. Colonel 
Jackson therefore decided the matter for himself, and seized 
the Marj'land Heights; constructing upon them a few block 
houses, and quartering there a few companies of troops. 

He was his own engineer, and reconnoitred all the ground 
for himself. He constructed very few entrenchments; and, to 
the end of his career, it was characteristic that he made almost 
no use of the spade and pick. On the 8th of May he wrote 
as follows to his wife : — 

" I am living at present in an elegant mansion, with l^iajor 
Preston in my room. Mr. Massie is on my staff, but left this 
morning for Richmond, as bearer of despatches, and is to retm-n 
in a few days. I am strengthening my position, and, if attacked, 
shall, with the blessing of the kind providence of that God who 
has always been with me, and who, I &mly believe, will never 
forsake me, repel the enemy. I am in good health, considering 
the great labor which devolves on me, and the loss of sleep 
to which I am subjected." 

In the despatches which he sent to the Government, he an- 
nounced his conviction that his post should be so defended, as to 
make it a Thermopyl^. His command was the advanced-guard 
of all the Southern forces; a collision was expected first at 
Harper's Ferry, whicli was threatened by a large force under 
Major-General Patterson; and, through that pass, it was sup- 
posed the invaders would attempt to pour into the State. Such 
a resistance, Colonel Jackson declared, should be made to this 
first assault, as would convhice our enemies of the desperate 
determination of the people of the South, and would set, to our 
soldiers, an example of heroism in all future combats. As 
Leonidas and his three hundred judged that the moral effect of 



192 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

their sacrifice vrould be "wortli more to Greece, in teaching her 
citizens ho"W" to die for their country, than any subsequent servi- 
ces which they could hope to render, so Jackson determined, if 
necessary, to die at his post at Harper's Ferry, in order to 
elevate the spirit of Southern resistance. 

From the beginning, he manifested that reticence and secrecy 
as to all military afifau'S, for which he was afterwards so remark- 
able. It was his maxim, that, in war, mystery was the key to 
success. He argued, that no human shrewdness could foretell 
what item of information might not give some advantage to an 
astute adversary, and that, therefore, it was the part of wisdom 
to conceal everything, even those things of which it did not 
appear how the enemy could make use. And since the channels 
by which intelligence may pass, arc so numerous and unforeseen, 
those thmgs which he did not wish divulged to the enemy he 
divulged to no one, except where necessity compelled him. Not 
long after he took command at Harper's Ferry, a digniified and 
friendly Committee of the Legislature of Maryland visited him 
to learn his plans. It was deemed important to receive them 
with all com'tcsy, for the co-operation of their State was earnestly 
desired, and every one was watching to see how Colonel Jack- 
son would reconcile his secrecy, and his extreme dislike to be 
questioned upon military affairs, with the demands of politeness. 
Among other questions, they asked him the number of his troops. 
He replied promptly, " I should be glad if Lincoln thought I had 
fifteen thousand." 

The character of his thuiking was illustrated by the declara- 
tion which he made upon assuming this command, that it was the 
true policy of tlie Soutli to take no prisoners in this war. He 
alfirmed that this would be in the end truest humanity, because 
it would shorten the contest, and prove economical of the blood 
of both parties; and that it was a measure urgently dictated 



REASONS FOR REFUSING QUARTER. 193 

by the interests of our cause, and clearly sustained by justice. 
This startling opinion he calmly sustained in conversation, 
many months after, by the following considerations, which he 
prefaced with the remark, that, inasmuch as the authorities 
of the Confederate States had seen fit to pursue the other policy, 
he had cheerfully acquiesced, and was as careful as other com- 
manders to enjoin on his soldiers the giving of quarter and 
humane treatment to disarmed enemies. But he affirmed this 
war was, in its intent and inception, different from all civilized 
wars, and therefore should not be brought under their rules. It 
was not, like them, a strife for a point of honor, a diplomatic 
quarrel, a commercial advantage, a boundary, or a province ; but 
an attempt on the part of the North against the very existence 
of the Southern States. It was founded in a denial to their 
people of the right of self-government, in virtue of which, solely, 
the Northern States themselves existed. Its intention was a 
wholesale murder and piracy, the extermination of a whole 
people's national life. It was, in fact, but the " John Brown 
Eaid " resumed and extended, with new accessories of horror, 
and, as the Commonwealth of Virginia had righteously put to 
death every one of those cut-throats upon the gallows, why were 
their comrades in the same crime to claim noAV a more honorable 
treatment? Such a war was an offence against humanity so 
monstrous, that it outlawed those who shared its guilt beyond 
tlie pale of forbearance. But as justice authorized their 
destruction, so wisdom and prudence demanded it, for it is 
always wisest to act upon principle, in preference to expedi- 
ency. He argued further, that this enormous intent of the war, 
together with the infuriated temper of the Northern people, and 
the circumstances of the contest, would inevitably lead them, 
before its close, even if they observed some measure at first, to 
barbarities and violations of belligerent rights, which would: 

25 



194 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

compel our authorities, by every consideration of riahtcous 
retribution and duty to their own injured citizens, to a bloody 
retaliation. But this would probably be then retorted, and the 
internecine policy would only assume a wider extent. The 
arrogance of the Federal Government would be sure to add 
political persecution of our citizens to the other rigors of war, 
under the pretext of punishing rebellion. The Administration 
at Washington was indebted to Abolitionism for its real 
strength, and would find itself impelled, whether it willed it 
or not, to conduct the war in accordance with the demands of 
that fell fanaticism. It would be seen, before this contest 
was over, inciting slave insurrections in the South, arming the 
servile class against their masters, and setting them on to per- 
petrate all the horrors of savage warfare. The Confederate 
States ought not to submit to these enormities, and could notj 
but the measures of retribution which the protection of their 
outraged citizens would require, should be directed rather 
against the instigators than the ignorant tools. By the time, 
however, this stern necessity had manifested itself, the Federal 
Government might have many of our soldiers, and much of our 
territory, in their clutches, so that retaliation would be encum- 
bered with additional difficulties. It would be better, therefore, 
to begin upon a plan of warfare which would place none of our 
citizens in their power alive. And lastly, if quarter was neither 
given nor asked, oul* soldiers would be only the more determined, 
vigilant, and unconquerable, for they were fighting under an 
inevitable necessity for liberties, homes, and existence ; while the 
soldiers of our enemies would be intimidated, and enlistments 
would be prevented, because they contend only for pique, 
revenge, and lust of gain. Indeed, it was in every way for tiie 
advantage of the Confederate States, that the war should be 
made to unmask its murderous nature, most practically, to the 



VIRGINIA JOIXS THE COXFEDERACY. . 195 

apprehensions of our citizens, for then they "woukl bo more 
likely to rise to the exercise of those radical and primary 
instincts of the human soul, which are commensurate in intensity 
with the magnitude of the stake at issue. This war was, in its 
true nature, internecine ; it were better that it should be under- 
stood as such. Its real meaning was destruction to the South ; 
better have each citizen and soldier understand this for himself, 
in the most personal sense. Then, instead of seeing a people 
waging so dire a contest for the primary objects of existence, 
with divided zeal, and with only the secondary motives of their 
nature, the most powerful moral forces of the soul would be 
evoked to sustain the struggle. 

Such, in substance, were the reasons which he rendered for 
his conclusion. They were given with an unpretending simplic- 
ity, which no other can reproduce ; for it was a characteristic of 
his mind, that the most profound considerations were seen by 
him so clearly and simply, that they were expressed without 
logical parade or pomp, as though they had been easy, and 
obvious to every understanding. Those who have watched the 
subsequent course of the war can decide, how accurately all his 
predictions have been verified. And every thoughtful man now 
anticipates nothing else, than to see mutual acts of retaliation 
precipitate the parties into an unsparing slaughter ; a result 
which has only been postponed thus far, by the unexampled 
forbearance of the people and government of the Confederate 
States. 

Meantime, on the 2d of May, Virginia had adopted the Con- 
stitution of the Confederate States, appointed Commissioners 
to their Congress, and thus united her fortunes with theirs. 
The secession of Virginia gave a second impulse to the revolu- 
tion, by which the States of North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkan- 
sas, and Missouri, and afterwards, in name, Kentucky, were 



196 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

added to the Confederation. On the 20th of Ma}', the Confed- 
erate Congress adjourned from Columbia to Richmond, which 
they had selected as their future capital, and on the 29th of the 
same month, Mr. Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confed- 
eracy, was received in Richmond with unbounded enthusiasm. 
By a treaty between Virginia and the Confederate Government, 
the State transferred all her troops and armaments to that power ; 
which engaged, in return, to defend her, and to pay and govern 
the forces. One of the earliest acts of the Confederate Govern- 
ment was to ai-)point a Commander of higher rank and greater 
experience to Harper's Ferry, which they justly regarded as a post 
of prime importance. General Joseph E. Johnston was selected 
by them for this office. May 23d, and proceeded thither immedi- 
ately, to take command. The Virginian authorities afterwards 
assured Colonel Jackson, that they were fully satisiied with his 
administration there, and would have been well pleased to 
increase his rank until it was adequate to the extent and 
responsibility of the command ; but they properly acquiesced in 
the appointment made by the Confederate Government. When 
General Johnston, however, arrived at Harper's Ferry, and 
claimed to relieve Colonel Jackson of his command, the latter 
had received no directions from the State Government to sur- 
render his trust. And here arose a momentary collision be- 
tween the two authorities, which displayed the inflexibility of 
Jackson's character. He replied that he had been intrusted by 
Major-Gcneral Lee, at the command of the State of Vii'ginia, 
with this charge; and could only relinquish it by his orders. 
In tliis position, he was, while respectful, immovable ; and as the 
Confederate commander was equally firm, a mischievous strife 
was anxiously feared. Rut very soon, the mails brought an 
application from some person pertainuig to Colonel Jackson's 
command, upon which was endorsed, in the hand-writing of 



THE STONEWALL BRIGADE. 197 

Major-General Lee, a reference to the aiitlioritj of General 
Joseph E. Johnston, as commanding at Harper's Ferry. This 
furnished Colonel Jackson all the evidence which he desired, to 
justify his surrender of his trust ; and he hastened, with cordial 
pleasure, to transfer his whole powers to General Johnston. 
The purity of his motives, and the absence of ambition, were 
appreciated by the latter, in a way equally honorable to both ; 
Colonel Jackson became at once a trusted subordinate, and «, 
zealous supporter. The Virginia regiments, at the diiferent 
posts, were now separated and organized into a brigade, of 
which he was made commander. Thus began his connexion 
with the Stonewall Brigade. It was composed of the 2d Vir- 
ginia regiment, commanded by Colonel Allen, who fell at Gaines' 
Mill ; the 4th, commanded by Colonel Preston ; the 5th, com- 
m.anded by Colonel Harper; the 27th, commanded by Colonel 
Gordon; and, a little after, the 33d, commanded by Colonel 
Cummhigs. The battery of light field-guns, from his own vil- 
lage of Lexington, manned chiefly by the gentlemen of the col- 
lege and town, and commanded by the Rev. Mr. Pendleton, 
Rector of the Episcopal congregation of that place, formerly a 
gTaduate of the West Point Academy, was attached to this 
brigade, and was usually under Jackson's orders. His brigade 
staff was composed of Major Frank Jones (who also fell as 
Major in the 2d regiment, at Gaines' Mill), Adjutant; Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel James W. Massie, Aide-de-camp; Dr. Hunter 
M'Guire, Medical Director; Major William Hawkes, Chief 
Commissary; Major Jolm Harman, Chief Quartermaster; and 
Lieutenant Alexander S. Pendleton, Ordnance Officer. It is 
due to the credit of Jackson's wisdom in the selection of his 
instruments, and to the gallant and devoted men who composed 
this staff, to add, that all of them who survived, rose with 
their illustrious leader to corresponding posts of usefulness and 



198 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

distinction. It may be added, that every brigadier •^iio lias com- 
manded this famous brigade, except its present gallant leader, 
has fallen in battle, either at its head or in some other command. 
General Jackson "vras succeeded as its commander, by General 
Richard Garnett, who, having been appointed to another brigade, 
fell at the head of his command, at Gettysburg. The next Gen- 
eral of the Stonewall Brigade was the chivalrous C. S. Winder, 
who was killed at its hea-d, at Cedar Run. He was succeeded 
by the lamented General Baylor, who speedily, in the second 
battle of Manassas, paid, with his life, the price of the perilous 
eminence ; and he, again, by the neighbor and friend of Jackson, 
General E. F. Paxton, who died on the second of the bloody 
days of Chancellorsville, thus preceding his commander by a 
week. Tills fatality may show the reader what kind of lighting 
that brigade was taught, by its first leader, to do for its country. 
General Johnston, having speedily learned the untenable 
nature of his position at Harper's Ferry, and having accom- 
plished the temporary purposes of its occupation, by the removal 
of the valuable machinery and materials for the manufacture, of 
fire-arms, determined to desert the place. The Federal com- 
mander, General Patterson, had now approached the Potomac 
northwest of Harper's Ferry, by the way of the great valley of 
Pennsylvania, so tiiat against him the tenure of that post had 
become no defence. His purpose to effect a junction at Win- 
chester with the forces of General M'Clellan, advancing from 
northwestern Virginia, was suspected. That town, situated in 
the midst of the champaign of the great valley, about thirty miles 
southwest of Harper's Ferry, is the focus of a number of j]jreat 
highways, from every quarter. Of these, one leads north, 
through llartinsburg across the Potomac at the little village of 
Williamsport, the position then occupied by General Patterson. 
Another, known as the northwestern turnpike, passes by 



HARPEk'S FERRY EVACUATED. 199 

Romney, across the Alleghany Mountains, throughout nortli- 
western Yirginia to the Ohio River. And others, leading east- 
ward, southward, and southwestward into the interior of the 
State, Winchester, was therefore the true strategic point for the 
defence of the upper regions of Virginia, and thither General 
Johnston determined to remove his army. Having destroyed 
the great railroad bridge at Harper's Ferry, and the factories 
of the Government, and removed all his heavy guns and stores, 
he left that place on Sunday, June 16. About this time, the 
advance of the Federal army from the northwest was reported 
to be at Romney, forty miles west of Winchester j and General 
Patterson was crossing the Potomac at Williamsport, nearly the 
same distance to the north, with 18,000 men. General Johnston 
having marched to Charlestown, eight miles upon the road to 
Winchester, turned westward to meet Patterson, and chose a 
strong defensive position at Bunker Hill, a wooded range of 
uplands between Winchester and Martinsburg. Upon hearing 
of this movement, Patterson precipitately withdrew his forces 
to the north bank of the Potomac. Colonel Jackson thus 
described these movements in his letter to his wife : — 

'• Tuesday, June 18. — On Sunday, by order of General John- 
ston, the entire force left Harper's Ferry, marched towards Win- 
chester, passed through Charlestown, and halted for the night 
about two miles this side. The next morning we moved towards 
the enemy, who were between Martinsburg and Williamsport, 
Ma., and encamped for the night at Bunker Hill. The next 
morning we were to have marched at sunrise, and I hoped that in 
the evening, or this morning, we would have engaged the enemy; 
but, instead of doing so, General Johnston made some disposi- 
tion for receiving the enemy, if they should attack us, and thus 
we were kept until about twelve A. m,, when he gave the order 
to return towards Winchester. At about sunset, we reached 



200 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

this place, ■which is about three miles north of "Winchester, on 
the turnpike leading thence to Martinsburg. When our troops 
on Sunday were marching on the enemy, they were so inspirited 
as apparently to forget the fatigue of the march, and though 
some of them were suffering from hunger, this and all other 
privations appeared to be forgotten, and the march continued at 
the rate of about three miles per hour. But when they were 
ordered to retire, their reluctance was manifested by their snail- 
like pace. I hope the General will do something soon. Since 
we have left Harper's Ferry, something of an active movement 
towards repelling the enemy is, of course, expected. I trusi 
that, through the blessing of God, we will soon be given an 
opportunity of driving the invaders from this region." 

From this time Colonel Jackson's brigade formed the advanced 
body of the infantry of the army of the Valley, and was continu- 
ally near the enemy. lie thus speaks of the command: — 

" The troops have been divided into brigades, and the Vir- 
ginia forces under General Johnston constitute the first brigade, 
of which I am in command. I am very thankful to our kind 
heavenly Father, for having given me such a fine brigade. He 
does bless me beyond my expectations, and infinitely beyond my 
deserts. I ought to be a devoted follower of the Redeemer." 

About this time. Colonel A. P. Hill, afterwards Licut.-General, 
was sent towards Romney with a detacliment of Confederate 
troops. The Federalists there retired before him, and having 
occupied tliat village, lie proceeded along the Baltimore and 
Ohio Railroad, eighteen miles west of the town of Cumberland, 
assailed a detachment which guarded an important bridge, dis- 
persed them, capturing two cannon and their colors, and 
destroyed the bridge. On tlie 19th of June, Colonel Jackson 
was sent with his brigade north of Martinsburg, to observe the 
enemy, who M^ere again crossing the Potomac. They retired 



COilBAT OF HAINES' FARM. 201 

before him, evidently afraid to hazard a collision. On this 
expedition Colonel Jackson was ordered by General Johnston 
to destroy the locomotives and cars of the Baltimore Railroad 
at Martinsburg. At this village there were vast workshops and 
depots for the construction and repair of these cars ; and more 
than forty of the finest locomotives, with three hundred burden- 
cars, were now destroyed. -Concerning this he writes : — "It 
was a sad work ; but I had my orders, and my duty was to obey. 
If the cost of the property could only have been expended in 
disseminating the gospel of the Prince of peace, how much 
good might have been expected ! " 

That this invaluable property should have been withdrawn to 
Winchester by the way of Harper's Ferry, before this point was 
evacuated, is too plain to be argued. Whose was the blunder 
cannot now be ascertained ; that it was not Colonel Jackson's 
appears from the extract of his letter just inserted. The bridges 
across the streams, between Martinsburg and Harper's Ferry, 
were by this time burned. So desirable did it afterwards appear 
that the railroads of the Confederate States should be recruited 
with the remaining stock at Martinsburg, that a number of 
locomotives and burden-cars were dravm along the turnpike 
roads by long teams of horses to Winchester, and thence to the 
Central Virginia Railroad. 

Colonel Jackson remained with his brigade a little north of 
Martinsburg, with Colonel J. E. B. Stuart in his front, then 
commanding a regiment of cavalry, until July 2d. On that day, 
he first fleshed his sword in actual combat with the Federal 
army. Patterson had, at last, ventured to cross the Potomac 
again in force, and to advance towards Jackson's camp. The 
latter immediately struck his tents, and ordered his command 
under arms. The instructions given him by his commander 
were to observe the enemy, and, if he advanced in full force, to 

26 



202 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAI. JACKSOX. 

retire until lie found a supporting body of liis friends. He 
therefore advanced to meet llie Federalists with the 5th Virginia 
Regiment, a few companies of cavalry, and one light field-piece 
of Captain Pendleton's batter}'-, leaving orders to the remainder 
of his command to be ready to march either way, and to 
commence sending their baggage to the rear. Near Falling 
Water Church, a rural house of worship half-way between 
^Martinsburg and the Potomac, he met the advance of the enemy, 
assailed and repelled them. Receiving reinforcements, they 
again advanced, and were again repulsed. Perceiving by this 
time the smallness of the force which was holding them in check, 
the enemy displayed a large body of infantry, which extended 
its wings, and then advanced them, with the design of enveloping 
Jackson in their folds. But he had posted his infantry behmd 
the buildings and enclosures of a farm-house and barn, which 
occupied both sides of the highway, and thence poured a galling 
fire upon the enemy, until they were about to surround him. 
Bringing up his field-piece to cover the retreat of his men, he 
then withdrew them. The first fire of his gun cleared the 
highway of the advancing column of Federals, and he retired, 
skirmishing with them until, four miles south of Martinsburg, 
he met the army advancing to his support. In this combat, 
Imown as that of Haines' Farm, Colonel Jackson employed 
only 380 men (for the whole of the 5th Regiment was not 
engaged), with one piece of artillery. The enemy brought into 
action the whole of Cadwallader's Brigade, containing 3000 
men and a battery of artillery. Yet it occupied them from 
nine o'clock a. m. until mid-day to dislodge this little force, and 
it co^^t them a loss of forty-five prisoners, captured by Colonel 
Stuart in a dash of his cavalry, and a large number of killed 
and wounded. Jackson's loss was two men killed and ten 
wounded. He was probably the only man in the detachment 



FEDERAL MOVEMENTS. 203 

of infantry who had ever been under fire ; but he declared that 
"both officers and men behaved beautifully." On the other 
hand, his coolness, skill, care for the lives of his men, and happy 
audacity, filled them with enthusiasm. Henceforward, his influ- 
ence over them was established. General Patterson reported 
to his Government that he had repulsed 10,000 rebels, with the 
loss of one man killed. The numerous covered wagons of the 
Dutch farmers, which went to the rear, with the blood ^dripping 
through the seams of the boards, told a different story of his 
loss. The dead of the Federal army were carefully concealed 
from their comrades, lest the sight should intimidate the 
unwarli]|e -rabble. 

G<3neral Patterson occupied Martinsburg while General John- 
ston remained at the little hamlet of Darkesville, four miles 
distant, and offered him battle daily. This challenge the Federal 
general prudently declmed. The Confederate commander, on 
the other hand, refused to gratify the eagerness of his men by 
attacking him in Martinsburg; for the massive dwellings and 
warehouses of that town, with the numerous stone-walled enclo- 
sures, rendered it a fortified place, of no little strength against 
an irregular approach. At the end of four days, General John- 
ston retired to Winchester. On the 15th of July General 
Patterson advanced to Bunker Hill, but, when his adversary 
again ofi^ered battle, he paused there, and began to extend his 
left eastward towards the little village of Smithfield. To the 
uninformed, the meaning of this movement seemed to be, to 
surround General Johnston by his larger forces. But the supe- 
rior sagacity of the latter discerned the true intention, viz., to 
prepare for co-operation with the army of General McDowell, the 
Federal commander, who was about to assail the Confederate 
forces under General Beauregard at Manassa's Junction, and at 



204 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

the same time, to prevent the army of the Valley from extending 
that aid \?hich \70uld be so much needed by him. 

Upon his return to "Winchester, Colonel Jackson received the 
following note : — 

«' EiCHMOND, 3d July, 1861. 

" My dear General, — I have the pleasure of sending you a 
commission of Brigadier-General in the Provisional army ; and 
to feel that you merit it. May your advancement increase your 
usefulness to the State. — Very truly, 

. "R. E. Lee." 

General Johnston had recommended him for this piomotion, 
immediately after the affair of Haines' Farm ; but it had been 
already determined upon by the Confederate Government, and 
the letter of appointment was dated as early as June 17 th. 
General Jackson was exceedingly gi-atified by this tribute to his 
merit, and by his permanent assignment to his Brigade. Ignorant 
of the generous intentions of the Government, he had been led 
by his modesty to fear, that his possession of that command 
would only be temporary. Other colonels in command of 
Brigades had just been relieved by officers of higher rank ; and 
he anticipated the same event for himself. He had, indeed, 
written, just before, to an influential member of the State Gov- 
ernment, earnestly requesting him to procure for him such pro- 
motion as would prevent this fate. His advancement, therefore, 
brought him all the pleasure of an agreeable surprise. To the 
constant sharer of his joys, he wrote : — 

"I have been officially informed of my promotion to be a 
Brigadier-General of the Provisional Army of the Southern Con- 
federacy. ]My promotion is beyond what I anticipated, as I only 
expected it to be in the volunteer forces of the State. One 
of the greatest [gi-ounds of] desires for advancement is the 



JACKSOX A BEIGADIER-GENEEAL. 205 

gratification it will give yon, and serving my country more effi- 
ciently. 

" Through the blessing of God I now have all that I ought to 
desire in the line of promotion. I would be very ungrateful if 
I were not contented, and exceedingly thankful to our Idnd 
lieavenly Father. May his blessing ever rest on yon, is my 
fervent prayer ! " 

The reader will see here, the same remarkable union of 
honorable professional aspirations, with faith and dependence on 
God, which distinguished his whole courge-. 



206 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 



CHAPTER VII. 



MANASSAS. 



The moYement of General Jolmston from Harper's Ferry to 
"Winchester Tvas dictated, not only by the circumstances within 
his own field of operations, but by his relations to the Confed- 
erate commanders on his right and left. In the northwest was 
General Garnett, who, with five thousand men, confronted a Fed- 
eral army of four times that number, commanded by Generals 
M'Clcllan and Eosccranz. Had this army been overpowered, 
as it was during the month of July, while General Johnston was 
at Harper's Ferry, the victorious forces of M'Clcllan would have 
been in a condition to threaten his rear at Winchester. East of 
the Blue Ridge, General Beauregard was organizing an army at 
Manassa's Junction, to cover that approach to the capital of the 
confederacy, and was confronted by the strongest of all the Fed- 
eral arm-'es, under General M'Dowell. The fearful preponder- 
ance against Beauregard could at any time have been increased, 
by suddenly withdrawmg General Patterson's army from the 
Upper Potomac to Washington, for which the vast resources 
of the Baltimore Raih'oad offered ready means ; while, from 
Harper's Ferry to Manassa's Junction, General Johnston must 
have travelled a more circuitous line; but, by placing his 
head-quarters at Winchester, he tempted General Patterson to 
Martinsbui'g. The advantages for concentration were now all 
reversed. General Johnston possessed the interior line, and 



manassa's junctiox. 207 

"was able to move by the shorter route to the support of General 
Beauregard. 

The traveller who left the town of Alexandria; upon the 
PotomaCj to go southwestward into the interior of Virginia, at 
the distance of twenty-five miles, found the Manassa's Gap Rail- 
road dividing itself pn the right hand from the main stem, and 
turning westward towards the peaks of the Blue Ridge, wliich 
are visible in the horizon. This road sought a passage through 
those mountains at Manassa's Gap, a depression which received 
its name from an obscure Jew merchant named Manassa, who, 
years ago, had fixed his home in the gorge 'of the ravine. From 
this the railroad was called the Manassa's Gap Road, and the 
junction with the" Alexandi'ia Railroad the Manassa's Junction. 
Thus the name of an insignificant Israelite has associated itself 
with a spot, which will never cease to be remembered, while 
liberty and heroism have votaries in the world. This Junction 
was manifestly the strategic point for the defence of North- 
eastern Vii'ginia. It was at a convenient distance from the 
Potomac, to observe the course of that river ; for the Confederate 
generals were too much masters of the art of war, to adopt the 
stupid policy of attempting to hold all the banks of a long 
stream, on the stationary defensive, against a superior assailant. 
It was manifest that the command of railroads, by reason of their 
capacity for the rapid transportation of troops and supplies, must 
ever be a decisive advantage in campaigns. The general who is 
compelled to move all his forces and material of war over 
country roads, by the tedious and expensive agency of teams, in 
the presence of an adversary who effects his advance on a rail- 
road, must be at his mercy. To hold Manassa's- Junction, 
covered two railroads, of which one led southwestward to 
Gordonsville, and thence, by two branches, to Charlottesville, 
and Richmond ; and the other led westward, through the Blue 



208 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

Ridge, into tlic heart of the Great YaHej, the granary of the 
State ; but worse, the possession of tlie Mauassa's Gap Railroad 
by the Federalists uncovered General Jolmston's rear to them 
equally whether he were at Harper's Ferry or at Winchester, 
and at once required the evacuation of the whole country north 
of that thoroughfare. 

For these reasons, the Confederate Government made every 
effort to hold, and the Federal, directed by the veteran skill of 
General Winficld Scott, to seize this point. It is situated three 
miles south of Bull Run (a little stream of ten yards' width, 
almost everywhere fordable), in a smiling champaign, diversified 
with gentle hills, woodlands, and farmhouses. 

The water-course takes its rise m a range of highlands, called 
the Bull Rmi Mountains, foui'teen miles west of the Junction, and, 
pursuing a southeast course, meets Broad and Cedar Runs five 
miles east of it, and forms, with them, the Occoquan. The hills 
near the stream are more lofty and precipitous than the gentle 
swells which heave up the plain around the Junction; and, on 
one side or the other, they usually descend steeply to the water, 
commanding the level meadows which stretch from the opposite 
bank. "Where the meadows happened to be on the north bank, 
the stream ojQfered some advantages of defence for the Confeder- 
ates ; but where the lowlands were on the south side, the advan- 
tage for attack was with the Federalists. 

No works of any description defended this line. The Junc- 
tion, three miles in its rear, was surrounded with a single circuit 
of common earthworks, consisting of a ditch and an embank- 
ment of a few feet in height, with platforms for a score of cannon. 
A journey of six miles from the Junction, northeastward by the 
country road, brings the traveller io the hamlet of Centrcville, 
seated on a high ridge. Tln-ough *this little village passes the 
paved highway from Alexandria to Warrcntou, in a direction 



BULL RUN. 209, 

almost due west; and, at a point five miles northwest of tlie 
Junction, this thoroughfare crosses the channel of Bull Run 
obliquely upon an arch of stone. Here a little tributary-, called 
Young's Branch, enters the stream from the southwest, and the 
I rills from which it flows rise to even a bolder elevation than the 
other heights of Bull Run. Upon those hills was fought the first 
Battle of Manassas. 

On the IGth of July, the hosts of General M'Dowell left their 
entrenched camps along the Potomac, and drove ^in the advance 
of General Beauregard from Fairfax Court House on the 1 7th, 
The Federal army consisted of about sixty thousand men, 
including nearly all the United States regulars cast of the 
Rocky Mountains, and sixty pieces of artillery. It was equipped 
with all that wealth and art could lavish, and armed throughout 
with the most improved implements of destruction. 

The whole army and people of the North were inflated with 
the assurance of victory. The Generals had labelled the pack- 
ages of supplies " for Richmond." The fanatical volunteers had 
supplied their pockets with halters with which to hang the 
"Southern Rebels," as soon as they were captured in battle. 
The Federal Congress, then in session in Washington, was 
adjourned, in order to enable the members to go with the army, 
and feast their eyes with the spectacle of the rout of the Con- 
federates; and long lines of carriages, filled with females 
bedecked with their holiday attire, followed the rear of the 
Federal army, with baskets of champagne, and all the appli- 
ances for the feast and the dance, with which they proposed to 
mock the groans of the dying thousands on the evening of their 
victory. The newspapers of the North scouted with disdain 
the ideas of defeat ; and declared that, in ten days at the utmost, 
their triumphant army must be established in Richmond, and 
27 



210 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

the Confederate Government drowned in the blood of its 
leaders.* 

On tlic evening of July 1 Ith, General Beauregard assembled 
all his forces along the line of Bull Bun, from the Ston; 
Bridge to the Union Mills, a distance of eight miles. He 
thus presented to the enemy a body of about twenty thousand 
combatants, with thirty field-pieces, of which the heaviest were 
twelve-pounder howitzers. These 'forces Tverc divided into 
eight brigades. The infantry was armed, with a few excep- 
tions, with the smooth-bore musket; and the cavalry, with fowl- 
ing-pieces and sabres. On the 18th of July, the enemy, having 
assembled in force at Ceutreville, made a tentative effort with 
a heavy detachment of all arms, to force the line of Bull Run, 
at Mitchell's and M'Lean's fords^ upon the direct road to the 

*,It maybe well to recall to memory the boastful spirit and arrogant self-con- 
fidence, with which the North entered upon the struggle with the South. The 
Tn&M/ie said : <' The hanging of traitors is sure to begin before the month is 
over. The nations of Europe may rest assured that Jeff. Davis & Co. will be 
swinging from the battlements of Washington, at least by, the 4th of July. "We 
spit upon a later and longer deferred justice." The Keio York Times said: "Let 
us make qviick work. The 'rebellion,' as some people designate it, is an unborn 
tadpole. Let us not fall into the delusion of mistaking a ' local commotion,' for 
a revolution. A strong active 'pull together ' will do our work effectually in 
thirty days." The Philadelphia Press d.ecla.Tc(l that '"no man of sense could, 
for a moment, doubt that this much-ado-about-notliing would end in a month." 
The Northern people were " simply invincible." "The rebels, a mere band of 
ragamuffins, Avill fly, like cliaff before the wind, on our approach." But Who 
can wonder that the press of America should pander thus to the ignorance and 
the arrogance of the North, when Seward himself, just a month before the Battle 
of Manassas, wrote thus in a public document, addressed to Jlr. Dayton, the 
Minister at the French Court : "France seems to have mistaken a mere casual 
and ephemeral insurrection here, such as is incidental in the experience of all 
nations, for a war, which has flagrantly separated this nation into two co-existnig 
political powers, who are contending in arms against each other, after the sepa- 
ration." And again: " It is erroneous to suppose that any war exists in the 
Ui^ited States. Certainly there cannot be two belligerent powers, where there 
is no war." Read in the light of subsequent events, can anything appear moi \ 
grotesque, more contemptible ? 



COMBAT OP BULL RUN. 211 

Junction. ^Meeting with a bloody repulse in this essay, he 
occupied Friday and Saturday, the 19 th and 20th, with explo- 
rations of the country, for the purpose of devising a flank move- 
ment. Tlie desired route was discovered, leading to Sudley 
Church, on Bull Run, two miles above the extreme left of the 
Confederates at the ^tone Bridge ; and the morning of Sunday, 
July 21st, was chosen for tlie second attempt. 

Meantime, indeed, at the first appearance of the Federal ad- 
vane-c, G-cneral Beauregard had given notice to General Jolm- 
ston, that the time had Jirrived for him to render his aid. Ac- 
cordingly, on the forenoon of Thursday the 18th, the army of 
the Yalley, numbering about eleven thousand men, was ordered 
under arms at its camp, north of Winchester, and the tents were 
struck. No ihari knew the intent, save that it was supposed 
they were ialjout to attack Patterson, who lay to the north of 
them, from Bunker Hill to Smithfield, with twenty thousand 
men ; and joy and alacrity glowed on every face. But at mid- 
day, they were -ordered to march in the opposite direction, 
through the town, and then to turn southeastward towards Mill- 
•wood and the fords of the Shenandoah. 

As they passed tln-ough the streets of Winchester, the citi- 
zens, whose hospitality the soldiers had so often enjoyed, asked, 
with sad and astonished faces, if' they were deserting- them, 
and handing them -over to the Yandal enemy. They answered, 
with equal sadness, tliat they knew no more than others Vt^liither 
they were going. The- 1st Virginia brigade, led by General 
Jackson, headed the march. The cavalry of Stuart guarded 
every pathway between; the line of defence which Jolmston had 
just held and the Federalists, and kept. up an audacious front, as 
though they were about to advance upon them, supported by 
the whole army. The' mystified commander of the Federalists 
stood anxiously on the defensive, and never discovered that his 



212 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

adversary was gone until his junction with General Beauregard 
was effected, when he sluggishly drew off his hosts towards Harp- 
er's Ferry. As soon as the troops had gone three miles from 
Winchester, General Johnston commanded the whole column to 
halt, and an order was read explaining their destination. " Our 
gallant army under General Beauregard," said this order, '-is now 
attacked by overwhelming numbers; the commanding general 
hopes that his troops will step out like men, and make a forced 
march to save the country.'' At these nervous words, every 
countenance brightened with joy, and the army rent the air with 
their shouts. They liurricd forward, often at a double-quick, 
waded the Shenandoah River, which was waist-deep to the men, 
ascended the Blue Ridge at Ashby's Gap, and, two hours after 
midnight, paused for a few hours' rest at the little village of 
Paris, upon the eastern slope of the mountain. !Here General 
Jackson turned his brigade into an enclosure occupied by a 
beautiful grove, and the wearied men fell prostrate upon the 
<:artli without food.. In a little time an officer came to Jackson, 
reminded him that there were no sentries posted around his 
bivouac, while the men were all wrapped in sleep, and asked if 
some should be aroused, and a guard set. "No," replied Jack- 
son, " let the poor fellows sleep ; I will guard the camp myself." 
All the remainder of the night he paced around it, or sat upon 
the fence watching the slumbers of his men. An hour before 
daybreak, he yielded to the repeated requests of a member of 
his staff, and relinquished the task to him. Descending from 
his seat upon the fence, he rolled himself upon the leaves in a 
corner, and in a moment was sleeping like an infant. But, at 
the first streak of the dawn, he aroused his men and resumed 
the march. 

From Winchester to Manassa's Junction the distance is about 
sixty miles. The forced march of thirty miles brought the army 



PLAN OP THE CONFEDERATES, 213 

to the Piedmont Station, at the eastern base of the Blue Ridge, 
whence they hoped to reach their destination more easily by 
railroad. General Jackson's infantry was placed upon trains 
there, on the forenoon of Friday (the 19th July), while the 
artillery and cavalry continued their march by the country 
roads. 

The president of the railroad company promised that the 
whole army should be transported on successive trains to 
Manassa's Junction by the morning of Saturday; but by a 
collision which was, with great appearance of reason, attributed 
to treachery, the track was obstructed, and all the remaining 
troops detained, without any provision for their subsistence, for 
two precious days. Had they been provided with food, and 
ordered to continue their forced march, their zeal would have 
brought the whole of them to the field long before the com- 
mencement of the battle. General Jackson's whole command 
reached the Junction at dusk on Friday evening, and were 
marched, hungry, weary, and dusty, to the pine-coppices near 
Mitchell's Ford, where they spent Saturday in refreshing them- 
selves for the coming conflict. All of Saturday night again, 
their indefatigable general was afoot, busy in the distribution 
of food and ammunition, and in the review of his preparations. 

It was no part of General Beauregard's plan to occupy the 
defensive attitude absolutely, along so weak and extended a 
line as that which he held on Bull Run. To do this, was to give 
the enemy leisure and opportunity to concentrate his forces, at 
any pomt which he might select, in such preponderance as inevi- 
tably to crush the portion of the Confederate army guarding 
that place ; and then the line of the water-course, being lost at 
one part, must be relinquished everywhere, or the army defending 
it would be cut in two. The Confederate general proposed, if 
General Johnston's reinforcements had arrived in time, to mass 



214 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

his troops, take the aggressive, and strike the unwieldy body 
of the Federal army near Centreville. But Satui'day passed, 
and they had not arrived. Nothing remained for him but to 
retain his defensive attitude/ and await the development of the 
enemy's piirposes. The morning of July 21st dawned with all 
the beauty and softness befitting a summer Sabbath-day, and 
the birds greeted the rising sun with as joyous a matin hymn 
as though the lovely quiet had been destined for nought but the 
worsliip of tlie Prmce of peace. But the invaders had conse- 
crated it, with -an impiety equal to their malice, to the bloody 
orgies of the Moloch of their ambition. The sun had not begun 
to exhale the dew, when, along the "Warrenton tui-npike, every 
more pleasing sound was hushed into terror by the rumbling of 
the wheels of a great park of artillery, and the hoarse oaths 
of the officers hurry mg it towards the extreme left of the 
Confederates. Columns of dust, risuig into the quiet au" in 
several du'ections, disclosed the movements of heavy masses 
of infantry. The Federal' general, leaving one strong division 
to guard his rear at Centreville, paraded another opposite 
Mitchell's Ford, and still another in front of the Stone Brid2;e, 
each accompiaiiied with batteries of rifled cannon; while the 
mass of his army made a detour through an extensive forest 
to the west, to cross Bull Run at Sudley Church, and thus to 
commence the assault in the rear of the Confederate left. They 
proposed to amuse the right and centre by a cannonade and a 
pretended assault, so as to detain those troops while the flanking 
force marched down the south side of Bull Run, crushed the 
Ijrigade which guarded the Stone Bridge, and opened a way for 
the division attackuig it to cross, and thus beat the patriot army 
in detail. Had the prowess of the Yankee troops been equal to 
the strategy of the chieftain, tliis masterly plan would have given 
them -a great victory. The Confederate generals anticipated 



BEATJREG^UIDS PLiiX OF BATTLE. 215 

a jBaiik attack, but vfere unable to deciclo at first, wlietlicr it 
would be delivered against their extreme right or left. Their 
hesitation, and the friendly concealment of the forest, enabled 
the enemy to eifect his initial plan, and tlu'ow 20,000 men 
across Bull Run, at and near Sudley Ford, without a show of 
opposition. Colonel Evans, with a weak brigade of 1100 men, 
held the Confederate left, and watched the Stone Bridge. A 
mile below, Brigadier- General Cocke, with three regiments, 
guarded the next ford. When Evans ascertained that the enemy 
were already threatening his rear, he left the bridge and 
turnpike to the guardianship of two small pieces of artillery, 
wheeled his gallant brigade towards the west, and advanced a 
mile to meet the coming foe. Here the battle began, and soon 
the roar of musketry, and the accelerated pounding of the great 
guns, told that the serious work of the day was to be upon 
the left. 

The cruel dilemma in which the superiority of the enemy's 
numbers, and their successful manoeuvre, placed the Confederate 
commanders, can now be comprehended. If they disfurnished 
their centre or right, while threatened with an imminent attack 
in front, the direct road to victory was surrendered to the enemy. 
If they permitted their left to remain unassisted it was inevitably 
crushed, and the remainder of the Confederate army was taken 
in reverse. They had thi'ce brigades in reserve, of which one 
was not available, because of its distance in the rear of the 
extreme right. But the other tvfo were th.ose of Generals Bee 
and Jackson, and the heroism of these two was sufficient to rein- 
state the wavering fortunes of the day. The plan of battle 
which was adopted, after the designs of the enemy were fully dis- 
closed, was worthy of the genius of Beauregard, who suggested,, 
and of Johnston who accepted it. This was, to send the two 
reserve brigades which were at hand to sustam the shock upon 



216 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

the left, and to enable that wing of the army to hold its ground 
for a time, while the centre and right were advanced across Bull 
Run, and swung around into a position parallel to the enemy's 
line of march, towards the Stone Bridge, with the view of assail- 
mg their rear-guard and their line of communications, at Centrc- 
ville. 

The movement was to begin upon the extreme right, which 
would have the segment of the largest circle to traverse, and to 
be propagated thence to the centre, so as to concentrate all the 
brigades below Cocke's, in front of Centreville, in a. formidable 
line of battle. This fine conception promised every advantage. 
It offered most effectual relief to the laboring left wing ; for the 
Federal army would be sure to relax its assault, -when the 
thunder of the Confederate battle on the north side of Bull Run 
and in their rear, told them that their line of communications 
was threatened. At the same time, it obviated the difficulty, 
otherwise insuperable, of employing the right and centre, now 
inactive, in deciding the fortunes of the day, without stripping 
the lower fords of Bull Run of their defences, and thus opening 
an unobstructed way for the enemy to the Junction. For as the 
Federal troops threatening those fords were pushed back, and 
the Confederates interposed between them and the stream, that 
access to the Junction was more effectually barred than before. 
But chiefly, this manoeuvre promised a magnificent completeness 
in the victory which it seemed to secure ; because it placed the 
strength of the Confederate army in the rear of tlieir enemies, 
and in a formidable position commanding their only line of 
retreat. lie who considers the panic which their actual discom- 
fiture caused in the Federal army, will not doubt that, with the 
capture of Centreville, it would have dissolved into utter rout, 
and been dissipated or captured. 

The two generals despatched the orders for this movement to 



JACKSON SUCCORS THE LEFT. 217 

tlic commanders of the right and centre, and then galloped to 
the scene of action on the left whe're the furious and increasing 
firQ showed that their presence was so urgently needed. The 
orderlies, by whom they were sent, miscarried ; and Beauregard, 
after listening in anxious suspense to hear, his guns open ujDon 
the heights of Centreville, until the day and the battle "vt^ere too 
far advanced for any other resort, relinquished the movement, 
and devoted himself to sustaining the struggle before him. The 
only Confederate line seriously engaged was now at right angles 
to Bull Run, and facing westward. The Federal forces contin,- 
uing to pour across at Sudley Ford, and extending their right 
wing perpetually farther to the south, pressed back tlieir oppo- 
nents by their fearful superiority of numbers and artillery, and 
by threatening to overlap their left. The only tactics which 
remained to the Confederate generals were, to bring up sucli 
reinforcements as could be spared from the centre and right 
successively, and as their line of battle was borne back from 
west to cast, to repair its strength, and to increase its front by 
placing fresh troops at its south end, until it had suSBcient extent 
and stability to breast the avalanche of Federal troops. 

The reader is now prepared for an intelligent view of the 
important part borne by General Jackson in the battle. At 
four o'clock on the morning of the 21st, he was requested by 
General Longstreet, whose brigade formed the right of the 
centre, to reinforce him with two regiments. With this he 
complied, until the appearance of an immediate attack wais 
rumored. He was soon after ordered by General Beauregard 
to support Brigadier-General Bonham at Mitchell's Ford, then 
to support Brigadier-General Cocke. above, and then to take an 
intermediate position where he could extend aid to either of 
the two. About ten o'clock A. M., General Cocke requested 
him to "move to the Stone Bridge, and assume the task of 

28 



218 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSOX. 

guarding it, in place of Evans, wlio had gone westward to meet 
the enemy descending from Sudley. But as Jackson advanced 
in this direction, the firing became more audible, and tauglit l^is 
superior judgment where was the true point of danger. He 
hastened towards it, .sending forward a messenger to General 
Bee, who had already reinforced Evans, to encourage him with 
the tidings, that he was coming to his support with all his force. 
It was, indeed, in good time. For two hours, these two officers, 
with five regiments and six guns, had breasted the Federal 
advance, often nearly surrounded, but stubbornly fighting as 
they retired, inflicting iand receiving heavy losses, until their 
conamands were disheartened and almost broken. As Jackson 
advanced to their assistance, he met the fragments of Bee's 
regiment sullenly retiring, while the heavy lin.es of the Federal- 
ists were surging forward like mighty waves. He proposed to 
that general to form a new line of battle, assuming the centre 
for himself, while Bee rallied his men in the rear, and then 
resumed his place upon his right. The ground which Jackson 
selected for standing at bay, was the crest of an elevated ridge 
running at right angles to Bull Run, between Young's Branch 
and another rivulet to the eastward, which flowed by a parallel 
course into the former stream. The northern end of this ridge 
overlooked the Stone Bridge. Its top and its western slopes 
were cleared of timber, and swept down in open fields to a 
valley, which divided Jackson at the moment from the advancing 
enemy ; but the reverse side of the hill, towards the Confederate 
rear, was clothed with a tangled thicket of pines, impenetrable, 
.save by two pathways, to artillery or cavalry. Before the Con- 
federate line, were two homely cottages, wuth their enclosures 
and stables; and a country road descended obliquely across 
the front, at the distance of a few hundred yards, enclosed on 
both sides with the heavy wooden fences of the country, and 



FIRST MANASSAS. 



219 




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220 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

worn, by the actioQ of the elements, into an excavation of a 
yard in depth. 

The soldierly eye of Jackson, at a glance, perceived that tliis 
was the spot on which to arrest the enemy's triumph. In the 
rear of this, the country approached more the character of a 
plain, and offered no marked advantages. It was true that the 
two little farm-houses in front of his right and left respectively, 
offered shelter to the enemy should they succeed in approaching 
his position, and the road which descended beyond gave them 
almost the advantage of an entrenchment; but the thickets on 
liis right, left, and rear, protected them from the assault of any 
other force than skirmishers, — a vital point to one so fearfully 
outnumbered. The swelling ridge gave his artillery a command- 
ing elevation, whence every approach of the enemy in front could 
be swept with effect, and, by placing his guns a little behind the 
crest, he gave the cannoneers who served them a protection from 
the adverse fire. The infantry supports in the rear of the bat- 
teries were still better shielded. Here, then, he began the new 
formation, by putting in position two guns of Stanard's batter\', 
with the regiments which headed his column of march, and, 
while the remainder came to the ground designed for tliera, 
these two pieces held the enemy in check by their accurate fire. 
The opposing batteries were then upon tlie hill beyond the valley 
in front, which was also swarming with heavy masses of Federal 
infantry. Jackson recalled Imboden's battery, which had entered 
the action with General Bee's command, and gallantly main- 
tained a perilous position until all its supports were routed. 
He brought up the other two guns of Stanard, and also the 
Pendleton battery, so that twelve pieces, which a little after 
were increased to seventeen, were placed in line under his 
command behind th6 crest of the eminence. Behind this formi- 
dable array he placed the 4th and 27th Regiments, commanded 



THE STRUGGLE. 221 

respectively by Colonel Preston and Lient.-Colonel Echols, lying 
upon their breasts to avoid the storm of cannon-shot. On the 
right of the batteries, he posted Harper's 5th Virginia, and on the 
left the 2d Eegiment commanded by Colonel Allen, and the 33d 
led by Colonel Cummings. Both ends of the brigade, when thus 
disposed, penetrated the thickets on the right and left, and the 33d 
was wholly masked by them. On the right of Jackson's Brigade, 
General Bee placed the remains of the forces which, under him 
and Evans, had hitherto borne the heat and burden of the day, 
while, on the left, a few regiments of Virginian and Carolinian 
troops were stationed. At this stage of affairs. Generals John- 
ston and Beauregard galloped to the front, inspiriting the men by 
their words and fearless exposure of their persons, and assisted 
in advancing the standards of the rallying regiments. Their 
appeals were answered by the fierce cheers of the Confederates ; 
and a new battle now began, to which the former was but a 
skirmish. Jackson's Brigade numbered 2600 bayonets, and 
all the troops confronting the enemy, about 6500. The Fed- 
eral commander, according to his own declaration, marshalled 
20,000 of his best troops, with twenty-four guns, for the attack 
upon this position. Successive lines of infantry were pressed 
across the valley and up the ascent of the ridge ; they filled the 
fences of the roadway with sharp-shooters, who picked off the 
Confederate gunners with their long-range rifles ; they crowded 
onward, and got foothold in the buildings before their lines. 
The Federal artillery poured a tempest of missiles upon our 
batteries, while they as furiously cannonaded the advancing lines 
of infantry. From 11 o'clock A.M. to 3 p.m. the artillery shook 
the earth with its incessant roar, while the more deadly clang of 
the musketry 'rolled in peals across the field. To the spectator 
in the rear, the smoke and dust rolled sullenly upward beyond 
the dark horizon of pines, like the fumes of Tophet. Through 



222 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

the long summer liours, Jackson's patient infantry stood the 
ordeal, which cTcn the hardiest veterans dread, lying passive 
behind their batteries while the plunging shot and shells of the 
enemy ploughed frequent gaps tlii'ough their lines. He rode, 
t]\G presiding genius of the storm, constantly along his lines, 
between the artillery and the prostrate regiments, inspiring con- 
fidence wherever he came. In the early morning, while he was 
ordered first to one post and then to another, but always in the 
rear, and it seemed as if he were destined for no decisive share 
in the great struggle, his men noticed that his cheeks were wan 
and his eye haggard with anxiety and suspense. But now, all 
was changed, the ruddy glow had returned to his face, his whole 
form was instinct with life; and while his eye blazed with that 
fire which no other eye could meet, his countenance was clothed 
with a serene and assured smile. 

As the grim wrestle continued, for the key of the Confederate 
position, the enemy perceived that they could make no impres- 
sion upon Jackson's front. They therefore extended and ad- 
vanced their wings. On his left, they brought a formidable 
battery of six guns within musket range, intending to enfilade 
his line, while on his right their irresistible numbers over- 
whelmed tlie shattered ranks of Bee. 

It was then that tliis general rode up to Jackson, and with 
despairing bitterness exclaimed, " General, they are beating us 
back ! " " Then," said Jackson, calm and curt, " we will give 
tlicm the bayonet." Bee seemed to catch the inspiration of his 
determined will, and, galloping back to the broken fragments 
of his over-tasked command, exclaimed to them, " There is 
Jackson standing like a stone wall. Rally behind the Vir- 
'j;inians. Let 7is determine to die here, and ive ivill conquer. 
Follow 7nc." At this trumpet-call a few score of his men 
reformed their ranks. Placing liimsclf at their head, he charged 



THE BAYONET CHAEGE. 223 

the dense mass of the enemy, and in a moment fell dead, with 
his face to the foe. From that time Jackson's was known as 
the Stone-ioall Brigade, a name lience.forward immortal, and 
belontiing to all the ages ; for the christening was baptized in 
the blood of its author, and that wall of brave hearts has been, 
on every battle-field, a steadfast bulwark of their country. 

Meantime, the battery which advanced upon Jackson's left 
had paid dearly for its temerity. It formed itself close upon 
the masked position of the 33d regiment, which, after a well- 
directed volley from the unerring mountain riflemen that slaugh- 
tered the larger part of the horses, dashed, upon it with the 
bayonet- and captured every gun. But the excavated road- way 
was just beyond, and, from its depressed banks and zig-zag 
fences, the Federal infantry poured in such a fire, that it was 
impossible to retain the prize. Tlie struggle for the crest of the 
eminence had now continued three, hours, and was evidently 
approaching its crisis. Both of Jackson's flanks were tlu^eatened. 
Upon his front the enemy was pressing with overwhelming num- 
bers ; the ammunition and the strength of his cannoneers were 
failiilg together ; and the red cloud of dust, in ^^•hich the advanc- 
ing line of the Federalists shrouded itself, was roiling perilously 
near to his batteries. Jackson saw that the moment had com^e 
to appeal to his supreme arbiter, the bayonet. Wheeling his 
guns suddenly to the rear by his right and left, he cleared away 
the arena before his regunents, and gave them all the signal. 
Riding up to the 2d regiment, he cried, "Reserve your fire till 
they come within fifty yards, then fire and give them liic bayonet; 
and, when you charge, yell like furies!" Like noble hounds 
unleashed, liis men spraiig. to their feet, concentrating into that 
moment all the pent-up energies and revenge of the hours of 
passive sufiering, delivered one deadly volley, and dashed upon 
the enemy. These did not tarry to cross bayonets with them, 



224 LIFE OP LIEDT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

but recoiled, broke, and fled headlong from the field. The 
captured battery was recaptured, along with a regimental flag ; 
the centre of the enemy's line of battle was pierced, and the area, 
for which tlicy had struggled so stubbornly, cleared of their 
]>resence. 

This was, for the Confederates, the critical success. For 
nearly four hours, Jackson had held the enemy at bay ; and the 
precious season had been diligently improved by the commanding 
Generals, in bringing up their reserves. As the pressure upon 
their lines below was relaxed, regiments and brigades were 
detached, and hurried up to the scene of action. A perpetual 
stream of fresh men was pouring on towards the smoking pine- 
woods, the chasms made in the scanty host on the crest were 
refilled, and the Confederate line of battle extended towards the 
south, by new batteries and brigades. The decisive hour was 
saved, and saved chiefly by Jackson's skill and heroism. It is 
true that, even when he charged the enemy's centre, their sharp- 
shooters found an inlet tlirough the breaches of the line upon his 
right and left, and almost enveloped his rear ; that his brigade 
was partially broken and dissipated, by the eagerness of its 
pursuit of the fugitive foe; and that their teeming numbers 
enabled these to return again and re-occupy a portion of the 
contested arena, and the battery which Jackson had twice taken. 
But the other troops which were now at hand, were formed by 
him, under the dii'oction of General Johnston, and speedily 
regained the lost ground; a few well-directed shots from the 
artillery wjiich Jackson posted farther to the rear, cleared away 
the encumbrances of his right flank; and the fresh regiments 
killed or captured the audacious skirmishers, who had insinuated 
themselves into the thickets behind him. 

It was now four o'clock in the afternoon, and the Federalists 
were as yet only repulsed, and not routed. They were still 



THE FEDERALISTS ROUTED. 225 

bringing up fresli masses, and, on the eminences fronting that 
from which they had just been driven, were forming an imposing 
lino of battle, crescent-shaped, with the -convex side toward the 
Confederates, for a final effort. But their hour had passed. 
The reserves from the extreme right, under Early and Holmes, 
'.vcre now at hand ; and better still, the Manassa's Gap Rail- 
i.'oad; cleared of its obstructions, was again pouring down the 
remainder of the Army of the Valley. General Kirby Smith 
led a body of these direct to the field, and receiving at once a 
dangerous wound, was replaced by Colonel Arnold Elzy, whom 
Beauregard styled the Blueher of his Waterloo. These troops 
being hurled against the enemy's right, while the victorious Con- 
federates in the centre turned against them their own artillery, 
they speedily broke, and their retreat became a panic rout. 
Every man sought the nearest crossing of Bull Run. Cannon, 
small arms, standards, were deserted. The great causeway, 
from the Stone Bridge to Centreville, was one surging and mad- 
dened mass of men, horses, artillery, and baggage, amidst which 
the gay equipages of the amateur spectators of the carnage, 
male and female, were crushed like shells ; while the Confeder- 
ate cavalry scourged their flanks, and Kemper's field-battery 
from behind, pressed them like a Nemesis, and ploughed through 
the frantic medley with his bullets. In this pursuit Jackson 
took no share, except to plant a battery upon a rising ground 
at his rear, whence he could speed the flight of the enemy with 
some parting shots. He retired then to seek relief for a painful 
wound in the hand, which he had received early in the action ; 
while his officers collected their wearied and shattered men, and 
ministered to their disabled comrades. 

Along a little rivulet, fringed with willows, which ran behind 
the hill that received the farthest cannon-shot of the enemy, 
many hundreds of wounded Confederates were gathered, with 



22 G LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXPRAL JACKSOX. 

many more of shameless stragglers, who had deserted tlie field 
under the pretext of assisting disabled comrades. During all 
the afternoon, the surgeons were busy here, under the grateful 
shade, plying their repulsive but benevolent task, and the green 
sward was strewn for half a mile with men writhing in ever} 
form of suffering, and tlie corpses of those just dead. Here 
Jackson found the Medical Director and the surgeons of his 
brigade. A rifle-ball had passed through his bridle-hand, break- 
ing the longest finger and lacerating the next. He was seen at 
the time to give his hand an impatient shake, and wrap his 
handkerchief around it, but, during the remainder of the action, 
he took no further notice of it. When he came up, his friend, 
Dr. M'Guire, said, " General, arc you much hurt ? " " No," 
replied he; "I believe it is a trifle." "Plow goes the day?" 
asked the other. " Oli ! " exclaimed Jackson, with intense 
elation, " we liave beat them ; we have a glorious victory ; my 
brigade made them run like dogs." And this was the only 
instance in which he was ever known to give expression to 
these emotions, upon his most brilliant triumphs. Several 
surgeons now gathered around to examine him, but he 
refused their services, saying, "No, I can wait; my wound 
is a trifle ; attend first to • these poor fellows." And he 
persisted, against their earnest entreaties, in compelling them 
to dress the hurts of all the seriously wounded belonging 
to their cliarge, while he sat by upon the grass holding up 
his bloody hand, evidently suffering acute pain, but widi a quiet 
smile on his face. After the common soldiers were attended to. 
he submitted to their examination, and, as they passed judgment 
upon the nature of the wound, he looked intently from one 
speaker to another, while all, except their chief, concurred in 
declaring that one finger at least must be removed immediately. 
Turning to him, he said, " Dr. M'Guirc, what is your opinion ? " 



EESULTS OF THE VICTORY. 227 

He answered, " General, if we attempt to save the finger, the 
cure will be more painful ; but if this were my hand, I should 
make the experiment." His only reply was to lay the mangled 
hand in Dr. M'Guire's, with a calm and decisive motion, saying, 
"Doctor, then do you dress it." The effort was a successful, 
though a tedious one, and his hand was restored, after a time, 
nearly to its original shape and soundness. 

"While he was at this place, the President of the Confederate 
States, with a brilliant staff, galloped by towards the battle-field, 
and called upon the idlers to return with him to the assistance of 
their comrades. General Jackson arose, waved his cap, and 
exhorted- the men to give him a lusty cheer, and to respond with 
alacrity to his orders. The men who had shed their blood for 
the cause were much more hearty in their greeting than the 
stragglers. Jackson, describing the manifest rout of the enemy, 
remarked to the physicians, that he believed "with 10,000 fresh 
men he could go into the city of Washington." 

The actual results of this victory were the capture of twenty- 
eight cannon, with several thousands of muskets, and a vast store 
of ammunition, equipments, and clothing; a number of army- 
wagons and ambulances, and a thousand or two of prisoners of 
war. The State was delivered from the immediate danger of 
invasion, and, while the Federal army and capital, with the 
rabble of the nation, were thrown into a panic as abject as their 
previous boasting had Jbeen arrogant, the Confederate people and 
armies received the news of their deliverance with an unwonted 
quiet, made up of devout gratitude to God, and solemn enthu- 
siasm. No bells were rung in Richmond, no bonfires lighted, no 
popular demonstrations made. From the solemn acts of religious 
thanksgivmg, the people turned at once to eager ministrations to 
the wounded heroes, who had purchased the victory with their 
blood. For these, the preparations made by the Confederate 



228 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

Government were crude and scanty, but the generosity of the 
people amply supplemented the lack of public service. The 
commanding generals reported, on the Confederate ijide, a loss 
of 3G9 killed on the field, and 1483 wounded. The Federal 
commander never confessed his real loss, covering up the number 
of his killed in a vague statement of the missing; but the 
gi'cater masses engaged on his side, the superior accuracy of the 
Confederate fire, and the appearance of the field of battle, proved 
that the enemy's Idlled and wounded must have been twice or 
thrice as numerous as ours. 

The portion of the Confederate loss borne by Jackson's 
brigade was the best evidence of the character of their resist- 
ance, and of its importance to the general result. Out of less 
than 2700 men present it lost 112 killed and 393 wounded. 
The object of this narrative has been to give such a sketch 
of the whole battle, as to make the part borne by the Stone- 
wall Brigade and its leader intelligible, and to give fuller details 
of the conduct of the general whose life is the subject of this 
work. The reader will not infer from this that all the stubborn 
and useful fighting was done by Jackson and his command. 
Other officers and other brigades displayed equal heroism, and 
contributed essentially to the final result. But the divine Provi- 
dence which he delighted so much to recognize assigned to him 
the maintenance of the critical post, during the critical hours. 
Had the enemy overpowered his brigadg and occupied the emi- 
nence, which was the key of the Confederate position, or had 
they not been held at bay until forces could be assembled to 
cope with them, no other stand could have been made, save 
within the entrenchments around the Junction, where the lack 
of water and the confined limits would speedily have made 
surrender inevitable. In tliis sense Jackson may be said to 
have won the first Battle of» Manassas. 



IMPORTANCE OF JACKSON 's AGENCY. 229 

But no narrative of the event "will be so Ml of interest to the 
reader as the disclosure of his own secret emotions in view of 
the battle. To his wife he wrote; July 22 d : — 

" Yesterday we fought a great battle, and gained a great vic- 
tory, for which all the glory is due to God alone. Though under 
a heavy fire for several continuous hours, I only received one 
wound, the breaking of the largest finger of the left hand, 
but the doctor says the finger can be saved. My horse was 
wounded, but not killed. My coat got an ugly wound iiear 
the, hip. . My preservation was entirely due, as was the glo- 
rious victory, to our God, to whom be all the glory, honor, and 
praise. Whilst great credit is due to other parts of our gallant 
army, God made my brigade more instrumental than any other 
in repulsing the main attack. This is for yom- own information 
only; . . . say nothing about it. Let another speak praisv, 
not myself." 

To complete this view of his magnanimous and modest 
temper, two other letters will be anticipated. In reply to some 
expression of impatience at the silence of rumor concerning his 
valuable services, while so many others were vaunting their 
exploits in the newspapers, he wrote, July 29tli: — 

'■'You must not be concerned at seeing other parts of the 
army lauded, and my brigade not mentioned. 'Truth is pow- 
erful, and will prevail.' When the reports are published, if 
not before, I expect to see justice done to this noble body of 
patriots." 

^'August 5th. — You think that the papers ought to say more 
about me. My brigade is not a brigade of newspaper corre- 
spondents. I know that the 1st Brigade was the fii'st to meet 
and pass our retreating forces, to push on with no other aid than 
the smiles of God, to boldly take its position with the artillery 
that was under my command, to arrest the victorious foe in his 



230 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

onward progress, to hold him in chcc-k until reinforcements 
arrived, and, finally, to charge, bayonets, and, thus advancing, 
pierce the enemy's centre. I am well satisfied with what it did, 
and so arc my Generals, Johnston and Beauregard. ... I am 
thankful to our ever kind heavenly Father, that He makes me 
content to await His own good time and pleasure for commen- 
dation, knowing that all things work together for my good. 
Never distrust our God, who doeth all things well. In due time 
He will make manifest all His pleasure, which is all His people 
■ should ever desire. If my brigade can always play as impor- 
tant and useful a part as in the last battle, I shall always be 
very grateful, I trust." 

The pursuit of the enemy was not continued beyond Centre- 
ville, and this was the first error which made the laurels of the 
Confederate army, so fair to the eye, barren of substantial fruit. 
It was accounted for, in part, by the paucity of the cavalry ; but 
this excuse was no justification, because the cavalry in hand, of 
which only two companies had been engaged in the actual com- 
bat, Avas not pertinaciously pressed after the fugitives, but. paused 
even before it met with any solid resistance from them. Another 
cause of .the interrupted pursuit was a rumor brought at sunset 
to the commanding generals, by some alarmed scout, who had 
seen a bewildered picquct of the enemy wandering through the 
country, — that a powerful Federal force was about to attack 
the lines of Bull Run near the Union Mills, where they were 
now denuded of defenders. This caused them to recall the 
fresher regiments from the chase, and send them upon a forced 
march of seven or eight miles, by night, to meet an imaginary 
enemy, and to return next morning to the field of battle. It 
would have been better had those regiments marched an equiv- 
alent fourteen miles upon the track of the fugitives. It should 
have been remembered also, that, even if full credit wore given 



THE PURSUIT DISCONTINUED. 231 

to the rumor of a fresh force advancing from the cast, the masses 
which General M'Dowell had that day displayed on the left and 
front, all of which were now discomfited, were too large to permit 
the supposition that this detachment could be itself a formidable 
array. But, if it were, obviously enough its proposed attack 
was intended to be only in concert with the one already made 
by M'Dowellj so that the most speedy and certain way to repel 
it was to precipitate the rout of the latter. The true policy of 
the Confederate generals should therefore have been to leave 
this supposed assault to take care of itself, for the moment, and 
to hurry every man after the beaten enemy. 

The whole army and country naturally hoped, that so splendid 
a victory would not be allowed to pass, without prompt and 
energetic efforts to gather in all the fruits. It was expected 
that the Confederate commanders would at least pursue the 
enemy to the gates of their entrenchments before Alexandria 
and Washington ; and it was hoped that it might not be imprac- 
ticable, in the agony of their confusion, to recover the Virginian 
city, to conquer the hostile capital, with its immense spoils, and 
to emancipate oppressed Maryland, by one happy blow. The 
toiling army, which had marched and fought along the hills of 
Bull Run through the long July day, demanded, with enthusiasm, 
to be led after the flying foe, and declared that they would 
march the soles off their feet in so glorious an errand without 
a murmur. But more, than this ; the morning after the battle 
saw an aggregate of 10,000 fresh men, composed of the re- 
maimlcr of the Army of the ValJey, who had at length reached 
the scene, and of reinforcements from Richmond, arrive within 
the entrenchments at Manassa's Junction, who were burning 
with enthusiasm, and expected nothing else than to be led 
against the enemy at once. In a few days, the patriotic citi- 
zens of Alexandria sent authentic intelligence of the condition 



232 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENEIIAL JACKSON. 

of the beaten rabble there, and in "Washington, whicli a true 
military sagacity would have anticipated, as Jackson did, with- 
out actual testimony. When Bee and Evans were repulsed in 
the forenoon, the Federalists had telegraphed to Wasliington 
that the '• rebels " were beaten in the open field; that the Grand 
Army was marching triumphantly upon the Junction ; and that 
victory was. assured. This premature boast the vain confidence 
of the Federals accepted as sufficient, and they spent the re- 
mainder of the Sabbath-day in exultation; but the dawn of 
Monday revealed to the citizens of Alexandria a different story. 
Already the streets were full of a miserable, jaded, and un- 
armed rabble, whose fears had given them wings to flee the tliu'ty 
miles, within the short summer night. They sat cowed, upon 
the curbstones and door-steps, and begged the citizens, over 
whom they had so lately boasted, in pitiful tones, for a morsel 
of bread and a few rags to bind up their wounds. As the 
morning advanced, the stream increased into a torrent. They 
had run untih their laboring breath compelled-them to fall into 
a languid walk, and yet, at every sound in the rear, they burst 
into fresh speed. Stalwart men were seen to tlu'ow themselves 
upon the pavement, upon reaching the town, and give vent to 
their sense of relief, in floods of tears. To the questions of the 
citizens, some replied that Beauregard, with his bloody horse- 
men, was just beyond the last hill ; wliile some were too fright- 
ened and eager to pause for any answer; For days, there was 
neither organization nor obedience, nor thought of resistance, 
on the south ' side of the Potomac ; and the confused crowd 
lieeded only two wants, food for their present hunger, and means 
to cross the river, that tliey might at once desert, and return 
to their homes. The steam ferry-boats were crowded nearly 
to sinldng, until the authorities of Washington arrested their 
journeys altogether. Sentry or picket-guard there was none 



PRECIOUS OPPOETUNITY LOST. 233 

on the front next tlie enemy ; the whole energies of the military 
authorities were directed to guarding the other side, to prevent 
their brave soldiers from running away. Nor was the capital 
city in a more hopeful condition. Confusion and uncertainty 
reigned there} nothing was needed but a few cannon-shots 
upon the southern bank, to turn their alarm also into a panic 
rout. . . 

Now, then, said the more reflecting, was the time for vigorous 
audacity. Now, a Napoleonic genius, were he present, would 
make this victory another Jena, in its splendid fruits; and, 
before the enemy recovered from his staggering blow, would 
concentrate, into one effort, the labors and successes of a whole 
campaign. He would fiercely press upon the disorganized 
masses; he would thunder at the gates of Washington; and, 
replenishing his exhausted equipments with the mighty spoils, 
would rush blazing, like the lightning that shineth from the one 
part under heaven to the other, through the affrighted North, 
imtil the' usurper was crippled, humbled, and compelled to 
relinquish his iniquitous designs. Especially was this boldness 
the true prudence now, because of the revolutionary nature of 
the war. Such struggles are so much moral convulsions, that 
military success is usually the prize of that party which knows 
how to impress, and mould the vacillatmg mind of the public, by 
its initial policy. Nowhere else is it more true, that the use 
made of the first tide of fortune decides the whole issue. In the 
North, the coercive policy of the Lincoln Government was an 
acknowledged innovation upon the established doctrines of the 
Republic. Up to that year, all schools of politicians had con- 
demned it as wicked and absurd. The rage and pride of the 
Black Republicans had impelled them to adopt it, but it was a 
confessed novelty ; and with all their heat, there was no solid 
assurance of its success. The triumjDhs of the patriots against 

30 



234 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

it ■would liavo taught multitudes to reconsider the rash and 
bloody experiment, and to return, though with reluctance, to the 
creed which founded the Union on the consent of the sovereign 
States. But especially were deeisivo results at the outset im- 
portant to determine the wavering judgments • of Maryland, 
Kentuck}^, and Missouri. The occupation of Washington would 
have transferred the foj'mer of these States from the Northern to 
the Southern side, and have imited the divided allegiance of the 
other two ; and such a change in the balance of strength, would 
have decided the whole subsequent success, had the North there- 
after endeavored to continue the struggle. 

With these views of the campaign, General Jackson earnestly 
concurred. His sense of official propriety sealed his lips ; and, 
when the more impatient spirits inquii-ed, day after day, why 
they were not led after the enemy, his only answer was to say, 
" That is the affair of the commanding Generals." But to Ms 
confidential friends he afterwards declared, when no longer 
under the orders of those officers, that their inaction was a 
deplorable blunder ; and this opinion he was subsequently accus- 
tomed to assert, with a warmth and emphasis unusual in his 
guarded manner. He was then compelled to sit silent, and see 
the noble army, with its enthusiastic recruits, withering away in 
inaction on the plains of Bull Run, now doubly pestilential from 
the miasma of the August heats, and the stench of the battle-field, 
under camp-fevers tenfold more fatal than all the bullets of the 
enemy. Regiments dwindled, under the scourge, to skeletons ; 
and the rude, temporary hospitals acquire'd trains of graves, far 
more numerous and extended than those upon the hills around 
llic Stone Bridge. The enemy recovered from theu' terror, 
which Avas replaced, agaui, by a mocking contempt for the Gov- 
ernment, which could be capable of so impotent a policy. A 
new commander was installed by them, and the gigantic North 



INACTIVE POLICY OF CONFEDERATES. 235 

set itself, with energies onlj quickened by its shame, revenge, 
and consciousness of danger just escaped, to equip more enor- 
mous fleets and armies, and to carry the scourge of war to every 
coast and river of the South. Jackson had the mind to compre- 
hend tlie inestimable value of the opportunity thus wasted, and the 
heart to feel a grief commensm^ate with the evils it was destined 
to cost his country. He knew that when God's providence 
gives either to a man or a people rare occasion for securing the 
blessing, it is not for nought; and His goodness cannot be 
slighted or misunderstood with impunity. The question may 
be asked, with scarcely less emphasis in the affairs of provi- 
dence than in those of redemption, ^- How can ye escape, who 
neglect so great salvation?" He foresaw tliat the country 
would be called to pay the penalty of this mistake in future 
arduous and protracted struggles. But his lips were silent. 
He busied himself as diligently, and, .to outward appearance, as 
cheerfully, in the duties assigned to him, as though the policy 
of the campaign had been his own. 

Those who justified the inactive policy, affected, indeed, to 
treat the hope that the Confederate forces might now occupy 
Washmgton, as fanciful. They urged that the utter disorgani- 
zation of the Yankee army could not be immediately known, 
and was not naturally to be inferred from losses so moderate as 
theirs ; that the dreary rain which succeeded the battle hindered 
immediate pursuit, and that, to Joe effective, the pursuit of so 
powerful a foe must be prompt; that the Commissary's ware- 
house was empty, and the troops must have marched without 
rations ; that the army, after its large increase, had not adequate 
transportation to enable it to move ; and that, if it went towards 
Washington, it could expect nothing else than to meet the un- 
broken army of General Patterson, which^ it was well knowuj 
was effecting a junction with that of M'Dowell. The reply to 



23G LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

these pleas is, that the military intuitions of Jackson told him, 
before the battle was ended, what the rout and disorganization 
of tlic enemy would be. The wearied Confedei'ate soldiers did 
not find the rain any the less dreary on the next day, because 
they were either countermarched up and down Bull Run, or left 
to crouch on the battle-field in fence-corners, without tents, 
instead of engaging in the inspiring pursuit of the enemy ; and 
it would have been well to begin teaching them, even for no 
other object, the lesson they have since so abundantly learned, 
of marching and fighting in all weathers. Rations were not 
created by sitting still, and the appropriate supply for the victo« 
rious army was that which was in the magazines of their enemies. 
The country was then teeming with supplies ; herds of bullocks 
were feeding in the pastures around Centreville, and the barns of 
the farmers were loaded with grain, which was denied its usual 
outlet to Washington and Baltimore. A march of twenty-five 
miles could surely have been accomplished without baggage or 
rations, especially when the short effort might lead them to the 
spoils of a wealthy capital. If the arrival of General Patterson's 
army was suspected, it was not known. At the most, it was only 
the army w^hich, before it was appalled by disaster, had so often 
recoiled before the 11,000 of General Johnston. How then could 
it meet 40,000 Confederates flushed with victory ? But in truth, 
at the hour Jackson was piercing the centre of M'Dowcll, with a 
fatal thrust, at Manassas, Patterson was haranguing his mutinous 
troops at Charleston, within a few miles of the lines in which 
Johnston had left him the Thursday before ; and the Confederate 
forces would have reached Washington before him. The recital 
of these numerous obstacles, which were surmised (and with 
probable reason) to exist, but which the event showed did noti 
exist, teaches what was the true fault of the Southern comman- 
ders. They are not to be condemned by history because they 



THE JUST CONCLUSION. 237 

did not actually take Washington, but because they did not try. 
Tlieir inexcusable error was, tliat tLey were not adventurous 
euougli to explore the extent of their own good fortune. It is 
ever the duty of a leader of armies to hope that obstacles may 
be superablC; unless he has proved them insuperable. It is early 
enough for him to arrest his career, when he has found them 
actual, and not merely possible. 

The true solution of the enigma, how men, capable of winning 
such a victory, could prove so incompetent to improve it, is pro- 
bably to be found in their mistrust of their own irregular 
soldiery. They were officers of the regular army of the United 
States, accustomed to prize its professional accm^acy, and to 
depreciate the uninstructed militia, and they were unable to 
understand the capacities of the peculiar force which they 
handled. This was an army of volunteers, who had been 
drilled, at most, for eight or twelve weeks, and were led by 
company-officers who had never seen a battle, nor heard the 
whistling of a bullet. Subordination was slight, and the feeble 
bond of order which they had acquired, although it sufficed to 
give them on the parade-ground the semblance of a gallant army, 
was not as yet habitual enough to endure the strain of battle. 
Under the pressure of either success or repulse, it was dissolved, 
and regiments reverted almost into mobs. This body was per- 
vaded by a large infusion of personal heroism, and, even after its 
exact order was lost, the major part of its men continued to fight 
with admirable gallantry ; but their impulse was personal, and 
not common. In their tactics, — intelligence, patriotism, and 
chivahy supplied the place of methodical concert and mutual 
dependence. In the melee, each man found op]30i'tunity to do 
what was right in his own eyes, and, while the larger number, 
the brave men, fought on in their irregular fashion, and won the 
day, the remainder of poltroons straggled shamefully to the rear. 



238 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENER.\J. JACKSON. 

Heuce, doubtless, these great professional soldiers were horrified 
when they saw their army so disorganized by its own success. 
They shuddered when they asked themselves what would have 
been its condition in defeat ? They felt as though a victory with 
such an army was only a lucky accident ; and that their wisdom 
would be to "let well enough alone," and tempt the Fates no 
more with so uncertain an instrument. 

But Jackson was more than the professional soldier. Leaving 
the army, he had become the citizen, the philosophic scholar, 
the statesman. He knew both the vices and virtues of this 
citizen-soldiery. He knew that, penetrated by such a moral 
sentiment as animated the larger number, it would be even less 
disorganized by defeat than by victory. While he reprobated the 
base stream of stragglers, and was as anxious as any to super- 
induce upon the good men all the advantages of a thorough dis- 
cipline, in addition to a generous morale, he .knew how to take 
those thin, irregular lines, decimated by the laggards, and so to 
launch them against the enemy as to pluck a brilliant triumph 
from the midst of numbers. His hardy and sober judgment 
reminded Mm that, if battle had loosened the bonds of order 
in our ranks, it had destroyed them in those of our enemies ; 
for their army also was a militia, composed, not of gallant 
gentlemen and then- reputable dependants, but of unwarlike 
mechanics. He foresaw that, while the thorough drill would 
benefit our gallant soldiery, relatively it would advance the 
mercenary hordes of the enemy jet more. The more nearly 
both were brought to the mechanical perfections of a regular 
army, the more would the difference between them be narrowed. 
And, therefore, notwithstanding the imperfections of the Con- 
federate army, the present was its opportunity, and its earliest 
blows would be successful at least cost to it. 

A few days after the battle of Manassas, General Jackson 



HIS CORRESPONDENCE. 239 

moved liis brigade to a pleasant woodland, a mile in advance 
of Ccntrevillc. There he busied himself in perfecting the dis- 
cipline of the troops. After a- time the Confederate generals, 
wliose forces had groAvn to about 60,000 men, pushed their lines 
forward to Muusou's and Mason's Hills, within sight of the Fed- 
eral capital, and erected slight earthworks upon these eminences. 
Their object was to tempt General M-Clellan to an assault. 
But this leader was too well taught by the disasters of Bull 
Run to risk a general action. He occupied the attention of tin; 
Confederates with skirmishes of pickets and" occasional feints, 
which required the advance of heavy supports to the front. In 
these alarms the 1st Brigade was always conspicuous for the 
promptitude with which it appeared at the threatened point, 
and for its martial bearing. This season of comparative quiet 
was largely employed by General Jackson in religious labors 
for the good of his command. His correspondence showed the 
same humility and preference for the quiet enjoyments of home 
which characterized him before he became famous. 

August 2 2d, he wrote to his wife: — "Don't put any faith in 
(the assertion) there will be no more fighting till October. ,It 
may not be till then ; and God grant that, if consistent with His 
glory, it may never be. Sure, I desire no more, if oin- country's 
independence can bo secured without it. As I said before leav- 
ing you, so say I now, that if I fight for my country it is from a 
sense of duty, a hope that, through the blessing of Providence, 
I may be Enabled to serve her, and not merely because I prefer 
the strife of battle to the peaceful enjoyments o^ homey 

September 2-4:th, he says : — " This is a beautiful and lovely 
morning, beautiful emblem of the morning of eternity in heaven. 
I greatly enjoy it, after our cold, chilly weather, which has made 
me' .feel doubtful of my capacity, humanly speaking, to endure 
the campaign, should we remain longer in tents. But God, our 



240 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

God, will do, and docs all things "well, and if it is His pleasure 
tliat I should remain in the field, Uc will give mo the ability to 
endure all its fatigues." 

This hope was fully realized. The life in the open air proved 
a cordial to his feeble constitution. Every appearance of tlie 
.scholastic languor vanished from liis face, his eye grew bright, 
and its vision, so long enfeebled, was so fully restored that 
thenceforward it endured, by night and by day, all the labors 
of his burdensome correspondence, and the business of his 
command. His dieek grew ruddy and his frame expanded, so 
that to his former acquaintances he appeared a new man 

The period is now reached when it is nccess.ary to narrate 
the views and efi'orts of General Jackson, in reference to his 
native region, Northwestern Virginia. The communications of 
all the region between the Ohio River and the Alleghany Moun- 
tains, arc much more easy with the States of the Northwest 
t]ian with the remainder of Virginia. A large portion of the 
population was, moreover, from this cause, disaffected. The 
type of sentiment and manners prevailing there, was rather that 
of Ohio than of Virginia. To the military invasions of the 
enemy it lay completely open, while direct access from the cen- 
tral parts of the Confederacy could only be had by a tedious 
journey over mountain roads. The western border is washed 
by the Ohio River, which floats the mammoth steamboats of 
Pittsburg and Cincinnati, save during the summer-heats. The 
Monongahela, a navigable stream, pierces its northern -boundary. 
The district is embraced between the most populous and fanati- 
cal parts of the States of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Two rail- 
roads from the Ohio eastward, uniting at Grafton, enabled the 
Federalists to pour their troops and their munitions of war, 
with rapidity, into the heart of the country. The Confederate 
authorities, on the contrary, had ncitlicr navigable river nor 



MILITARY POLICY OP VIRGINIA. 241 

railroad by which to transport their troops, or to subsist them 
there, but could only effect this by a long wagon-road crossing 
numerous mountain-ridges from Staunton, upon the Central 
Virginia Railroad. It was manifest, therefore, that the Govern- 
ment had little prospect of being able to cope with the Federal- 
ists for the occupation of the country. The traitorous partisans 
of the region, intimidating the loyal people by the bayonets of 
the invaders, set up a usurping government, and adhered to the 
Lincoln dynasty. But the same difficulties of transportation 
would evidently press the enemy, so soon as he, not content 
with the occupation of Northwestern Virginia, sought to invade 
the central parts of the State ; for, then, it would be the Federal 
army which would have the long and laborious line of communica- 
tion to sustain, and the Confederate force would be brought near 
its railroad and its supplies. The obvious military policy for 
Virginia, therefore, was to make no attempt to hold the North- 
west, in the face of such difficulties ; but to tempt the enemy to 
involve himself in the arduous mountain-roads, and to await his 
enfeebled attacks on the nearer side of the wilderness, where the 
means of more rapid concentration would give the power to crush 
him. But this policy was forbidden by a generous pride, and an 
unwillingness to leave a loyal population exposed, even for a time, 
to the oppressions of a clique of traitors, backed by invaders. 
A small army was sent thither, under General Garnett, 
through vast difficulties. It numbered about 5000 men, and, as 
might have been expected, found itself confronted by a force of 
fourfold numbers and resources, under General M'Clellan. On 
the 11th of July, the little army, indiscreetly divided into two 
detachments, was assailed at Rich Mountain. Both parts were 
compelled to retreat across the Alleghanies with the loss of their 
baggage and a number of prisoners, and, Ut the skirmisli at Can- 
nock's Ford, their unfortunate leader was killed. It was this- 

31 



24:2 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

easy triumph which procured for General M'Clellan, fi-om the 
Yankee people, the title of " The Young Napoleon," the most 
complete misnomer by which the rising fortunes of a young 
aspirant were ever caricatured. ' 

General Jackson held, that there was one plan of campaign by 
wliich the difficulty of contesting this country with the enemy 
might probably be solved, and, during the first year of the war, 
he was eager to be engaged in it. His scheme embraced two 
parts. One was, the sending of a commander into the north- 
west, to rally as many of the population as possible to the 
Confederate cause, and thus find a large part of the men and 
materials for sustaining the contest, in the country itself The 
leader, therefore, must be one Avho was known to the people, and 
possessed their confidence, and who knew how to conciliate their 
peculiar temper. lie believed that nearly all the more respect- 
able people of that region were loyal to their State and duty ; 
and, in this, events sustained his opinion; for, after a year's 
experiment, the most which the usurping Government could 
assert was, that among the forty counties which they claimed for 
their pretended State, they had dared to collect revenues in 
eleven only. And it has been shown that, with a few exceptions, 
the county majorities, polled in their favor at elections, were 
composed of the intrusive votes of the soldiers encamped there, 
to intimidate the people ; while the true voters, not being per- 
mitted to speak their real wishes, almost unanimously stayed at 
home. 

The other part of General Jackson's plan was, to retain, by 
force of arms, that section of the great Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad, which lies on the territory of Virginia, from Harper's 
Ferry westward, and to employ it as tlie line of operations for 
the major force employed in the northwest: For, he argued, 
this road being the great military and commercial thoroughfare 



Jackson's scheme for the notrhwest. 243 

connecting the enemy's capital with the West, whence he drew 
'so many of his men and supplies, it was at all times a vital 
matter to us to deprive him of it. Next, its use as a line of 
operations would cover, from the ravages of the enemy, a most 
important part of central and northern Virginia, the counties of 
the lower Valley, and of the south branch of the Potomac — a 
magnificent region teeming with precious resources, and in- 
habited, in the main, by a gallant and loyal people. But the 
chief reason for maintaining this line was, that it was the only 
one by which it was practicable for us to move men and mate- 
rials in sufficient masses, and with speed enough, to cope with the 
Federalists, entering the contested district by two navigable rivers 
and two railroads, A strong force, he said, should be pushed 
along the railroad, so far west as to place itself in the rear of the 
Federal army, operating against the little detachment which we 
so painfully sustained at the western side of the mountains. 
This would compel the retreat of our enemies, and make their 
capture probable. The country, being thus cleared of their pre- 
sence, and reassured against their return by the occupation of the 
great railroad, would, in consequence, revert to its proper alle- 
giance, and by its resources make this part of the war nearly self- 
sustaining. A reference to the map will show that this scheme 
was in appearance liable to a capital objection : The Baltimore 
and Ohio Railroad, thus made the line of operations for the 
Confederate forces, would be parallel to the frontier of Penn- 
sylvania, which the enemy might at once make the base of their 
operations against us. But such an arrangement is likely to be 
fatal to the party pursuing the aggressive (in this case the Con- 
federates), because their communications are ever within the 
reach of their enemy's blows. Here, however, the objection 
was more seeming than real. The true base from which the 
Federalists must have operated against this line of advoiice, 



244 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

was not the Pcnnsjlvaiiian frontier, but the Central Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad, parallel thereto, and a hundred miles distant. 
Now, to operate from that base against the Confederate line of 
advance, they would have had not raih-oads, but only the country 
roads of a mountainous region. Thus the superior mobility 
of our forces along their line of operations would have com- 
pensated, in great measure, for tlicir exposure to the enemy's 
advance across it. 

From the beginning of the war. General Jackson was anxious 
to be sent to the Northwest. It was the land of his birth and 
his kindred. The oppressions of the enemy and the traitorous 
defection of a part of its people, filled him with grief and indig- 
nation. The patriots who fled thence before the Federal bay- 
onets and domestic informers, looked to him as their natural 
•avenger. They knew that he was the pride of his numerous 
race — everywhere stanch in its loyalty to Virginia, and wield- 
ino" the wealth and influence of the district ; and that they would 
have secured for him a popular support which no other com- 
mander could have received. Hence, when General Jackson 
was placed at the head of the 1st Brigade, in June, he expressed 
to his wife an earnest hope that the Government would despatch 
it to the Northwest, and the modest belief, that he could march 
with it to the Ohio Eivcr. He declared that he was willing to 
serve in any capacity under General Garnett, then commanding 
there. After that unfortunate commander was killed, and his 
army expelled from the country, the Confederate Government 
sent out from Staunton a much more powerful expedition, under 
General Robert E. Lee. This commander endeavored to 
sliorten the arduous line of communication over the mountain 
roads, by leaving the Central Virginia Railroad, at a point forty 
miles west of Staunton, and penetrating the northwest througli 
the counties of Bath and Pochahontas at the Valley Mountain. 



HIS REASONS. 245 

But tliG intrinsic difficulties of liis line, aggravated by a season 
of unufcual rains, robbed him of solid success. From his great 
reputation, and the fine force entrusted to him, brilliant results 
were expected. In this hope General Jackson concurred. He 
wrote, August 15th, to his wife: — "General Lee has recently 
gone west, and I hope that we will soon hear that our God has 
again crowned our arms with victory. ... If General Leo 
remains in the Northwest, I would like to go there and give my 
feeble aid, as an humble instrument in the hand of Providence, 
in retrieving the down-trodden loyalty of that part of my native 
State. But I desire to be wherever those over me may decide, 
and I am content to be here (Manassas). The success of my 
cause is tlie earthly object near my heart, and, if I know myself, 
all that I am and have is at the service of my country." 

To his friend, Colonel Bennet, first auditor of the Common- 
wealth, he wrote, August 27th: — 

" My hopes for our section of the State have greatly bright- 
ened since General Lee has gone there. Something brilliant 
may be expected in that region. Should you ever have occasion 
to ask for a brigade from this army for the Northwest, I hope 
that mine will be the one selected. This of course is confiden- 
tial, as it is my duty to serve wherever I may be placed, and I 
desire to be always where most needed. But it is natural for 
one's affections to turn to the home of his boyhood and family." 
In a few weeks, the unavoidable obstacles surrounding General 
Lee's line of operations disclosed the truth, that, although he 
might check the enemy, he could do nothing aggressive. The 
second failure of the campaign, in hands so able, only demon- 
strated more fully than before that General Jackson's was the 
proper conception. He returned therefore to this with re- 
doubled strength of conviction, and in the month of September 
endeavored, through every appropriate channel, to infuse his 



246 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

ideas into llic rulers of the country. While he did this, he 
strictly charged his friends to make no reference to his name 
or authority, both because he would not be suspected of 
craving any power or distinction in a new field of enterprise, 
and because his punctilious subordination forl}adc his even 
seeming to criticise his military superiors. His plans were sub- 
mitted to some civilians, that, as the authorized counsellors of 
the Government, they might recommend them for adoption if ap- 
proved by their judgment. lie urged that, inasmuch as six 
precious weeks had been wasted since the victory at Manassas, 
and the enemy had been allowed to recover from his panic so 
far as to render an attack upon "Washington city hazardous, 
the Army of the Valley, under General Johnston, should be 
again detached and sent westward ; that General Beauregard 
eliould be left near Manassas with his corps, to hold the enemy 
in check, supported, if need be, by General Lee, who, by falling 
back to the Central Railroad, could reinforce him in a few days ; 
that General Johnston meantime should re-occupy the lower 
Valley about Winchester, Earper's Ferry, and Martinsburg, 
and, making it his base, push his powerful corps, by the Balti- 
more and Ohio Railroad, d4rcct to the Ohio River ; and that 
thence he should cut off tho retreat of General Rosecranz and 
his whole force, whom General Lee had drawn far eastward into 
the gorges of the Alleghanies. The capture of the larger part 
of the Federal army, and the deliverance of the country, he 
thought, could hardly fail to reward the prompt execution of 
this project. But it was not brought to the test of experiment. 
The fine army of North Virginia expended the remainder of the 
year in inactivity, neither attempting nor accomplishing any- 
thing. General Lee was held in check, not by the enemy, but 
by the mud, and the Northwest remained in the clutches of the 
oppressor. Whether General Jackson would have succeeded in 



PROMOTION AND NE^y COMJIAND. 247 

that difficult region, or whether Providence was kind to him and 
his country in crossing his desires, and preserving him for future 
triumphs in more important fields, must remain undecided. 

On the 7th of October, 1861, the Minister of War revs^arded 
General Jackson's services at Manassas with promotion to the 
rank of Major-General in the Provisional Army. The spirit in 
which this new honor was received, is displayed in the following 
letter to his wife : — 

" October liih, 1861. — It gives my heart an additional gratifi- 
cation to read a letter that hasn't travelled on our holy Sabbath. 
I am very thankful to that good God who withholds no good 
thing from me (though I am so utterly unworthy and so ungrate- 
ful), for making me a major-general of the provisional army of 
the Confederate States. The commission dates from October 
7th. 

" What I need is a more grateful heart to the ' Giver of every 
good and perfect gift.' I have great reason to be thankful to 
our God for all His mercies which He has bestowed, and con- 
tinues to shower upon me. Our hearts should overflow with 
gratitude to that God who has blest us so abundantly and over- 
abundantly. that my life could be more devoted to magnify- 
ing His holy name ! " 

Soon after came an order assigning him, under General John- 
ston, to the Valley District, a military jurisdiction embracing all 
the country between the Blue Ridge and the Alleghany j\Ioun- 
tains. The force assigned him would be still under the general 
supervision of the Commander-in-Chief; yet it constituted a 
separate, and, to a great degree, an independent command. 
When tliis appointment reached him, his venerable pastor was 
present, upon that visit to his soldiery which has been mentioned. 
He handed him the order, and, when he had read it, said with a 
simplicity and candor which could not be mistaken : — " Such a 



248 LIFE OF LIEUT. -GEXEEAL JACKSON. 

degree of public confidence and respect as puts it in one's power 
to serve liis country, should be accepted and prized ; but, apart 
I'rom that, promotion amouo; men is only a temptation and a 
trouble. Had this communication not come as an order, I should 
instantly have declined it, and continued in command of my 
brave old Brigade." 

To his wife he wrote thus : — 

" Nov. 4th, 1861. — I have received orders to proceed to Win- 
chester. My trust is in God for the defence of that country. I 
shall have great labor to perform, but tlirough the blessing of 
an ever-kind heavenly Father, I trust that He will enable me 
and other instrumentalities to accomplish it. I trust that you 
feel more gratitude to God than pride, or elation at my promo- 
tion. Continue to pray for me, that I may live to glorify God 
more and more by serving Him and our country." 

His brigade was ordered to remain with the Army of the Poto- 
mac, and it became necessary for him to part from his comrades- 
in-arms. On the day fixed for beginning his journey to his 
new scene of labor, he directed the regiments to be paraded 
in arms, and rode to tlieir front with his staff. No cheer 
arose, like those which usually greeted him, but every face was 
sad. Ranging his eye along their ranks, as though to say an 
individual farewell to each familiar face, he addressed them thus : 
" I am not here to make a speech, but simply to say farewell. 
I first met you at Harper's Ferry in the commencement of tliis 
war, and I cannot take leave of you without giving expression 
to my admiration of your conduct from that day to this, wdiether 
on the march, in the bivouac, or the tented field; or on the 
bloody plains of Manassas, where you gained the well-deserved 
reputation of having decided the fate of the battle. Tlu-oughout 
the broad extent of country over which you have marched, by 
your respect for the rights and the property of citizens, you 



f PARTING ADDRESS TO HIS BRIGADE. 249 

have shown that you were soldiers, not only to defend, but able 
and willing both to defend and protect. You have already 
gained a brilliant and deservedly high reputation, throughout the 
army of the whole Confederacy, and I trust, in the .future, by 
your deeds on the field, and by the assistance of the same kind 
Providence who has heretofore favored our cause, you "will gain 
more victories, and add additional lustre to the reputation you 
now enjoy. You have already gained a proud position in the 
future history of this, our second War of Independence. I shall 
look with great anxiety to your future movements ; and I trust, 
whenever I shall hear of the First Brigade on the field of battle, 
it will be of still nobler deeds achieved, and higher reputation 
won." 

Then pausing, as though unable to leave his comrades-in-arms 
without some warmer and less official words, he threw the rein 
upon the neck of his horse, and, extending his arms, exclaimed, — 

" In the army of the Shenandoah you were the First Brigade ; 
in the army of the Potomac you were the First Brigade ; in the 
Second Corps of the army you are the First Brigade j you are 
the First Brigade in the affections of your general ; and I hope, 
by your future deeds and bearing, you will be handed down to 
posterity as the First Brigade in this our second War cf Inde- 
pendence. Farewell." 

Thus saying, he waved his hand, wheeled, and left the gTound 
at a gallop, followed by a shout in which his brave men poured 
out their whole hearts. He repaired imtaediately to Winchester, 
and entered upon his duties as General commanding in the Val- 
ley district. 

This chapter will be closed with four passages from his cor- 
respondence, which show how thoroughly public spirit and disin- 
terestedness ruled in his heart. The new and enlarged sphere 
to which ho was promoted called for a re-arrangement of his 

32 



250 LIFE OF IJEDT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

staff. Application was made to him by dear friends, to make 
this the occasion of advancing persons near to. his affections, as 
well as to theirs. His reply was the following : — 

" My desire, nndcr the direction and blessing of our heavenly 
Father, is to get a • staff specially qualified for their, specific 
duties, and that will, under the blessing of the Most High, 
render the greatest possible amount of service to their coun- 
try." 

And his personal friends were not appointed. To another 
kinsman he replied, by stating that qualification 'must be, with 
him, in every case, the first requisite ; and inasmuch as the pros- 
perity of the service, and even the fate of a battle, might depend 
on the fitness of a staff-officer for his post, he could not gratify 
personal partialities at his country's expense. The habits into 
which he made most anxious inquiry, were early rising and 
industry ; and, upon the whole subject of seeking promotion, liis 
views were expressed with characteristic wisdom and manliness 
to another friend thus : — 

" Your letter, and also that of my much esteemed friend, Hon. 

Mr. in behalf of Mr. , reached me to-day ; and I hasten 

to reply, that I have no place to which, at present, I can properly 

assign him. I knew Mr. personally, and was favorably 

uupressed by him. But if a person desires ofiice in these times, 
the best thing for him to do is at once to pitch into service some- 
where, and work with such energy, zeal, and success, as to 
impress those around him with the conviction that such are his 
merits, he must be advanced, or the interest of the public service 

must suffer. If ]\Ir. should mention the subject to you 

again, I think that you might not only do him, but the country, 
good service, by reading this part of my letter to him. My 
desire is, to make merit the basis of my recommendations and 
selections." 



CORRESPONDENCE. 251 

Tlie next extract is upon a diifcrent topic : — 

"AW ^th, 18G1. — I tliiiilc that; as far as possible, persons 
should take Confederate Stat.e bonds, so as to relieve the Gov- 
ernment from any pecuniary pressure. You had better not sell 
your coupons from the bonds, as I understand they are paid in 
gold, but let the Confederacy keep the gold. Citizens should 
not receive a cent of gold from the Government, when it is so 
scarce. The only objection to parting with your coupons, is, 
that if they are payable in gold, it will be taking just so much 
out of the trea'sury, when it needs all it has." 

To appreciate the self-denial expressed in the following pas- 
sage, it must be known how dear his home was to him. In reply 
to a suggestion that he should obtain a furlough, he says : — "I 
can't bo absent, as my attention is necessary in preparing my 
troops for hard fighting, should it be required ; and as my officers 
and soldiers are not permitted to visit their wives and families, 
I ought not to see mine. It might make the troops feel that they 
are badly treated, and that I consult my own comfort, regardless 
of theirs. Every officer and soldier who is able to do duty 
ought to be busily engaged in military preparation, by hard 
drilling, etc., in order that, through the blessing of God, we may 
be victorious in the battles which, in His all-wise providence, 
may await us. If the war is carried on with vigor, I think, 
under the blessing- of God, it will not last long." 



152 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

WINTER CAMPAIGN IN THE VALLEY. 1861-62. 

The appointment of General Jackson to the 'command of a 
separate district under General Joseph E. Johnston, consisting 
of the YaUcy of Virginia, was made on October 21st, 1861. 
On the 4th of November he took leave of his brigade, and set 
out, in compliance with his orders from the Commander-in-Chief, 
for Winchester, by railroad, and reached that place on the same 
day. On his arrival there, the only forces subject to his orders, 
in the whole district, were three fragmentary brigades of State 
militia, under Brigadier-Generals Carson, "Weem, and Boggs, and 
a few companies of irregular cavalry, imperfectly armed, and 
almost without discipline or experience. The first act of the 
General was to call out the remaining militia of those brigades 
from the adjoining counties. The country people responded 
with alacrity enough to raise the aggregate, after a few weeks, 
to 3000 men. To the disciplining of this force he addressed 
himself with all his energies. 

A brief description of the country composing his district is 
necessary to the understanding of the remaining history. The 
Great Valley extends through much of the States of Pennsyl- 
vania and Virginia, and crosses Maryland, at its narrowest 
part. This district is widest and most fertile just where the 
Potomac passes tlu'ough it, from its sources in the main iUle- 
gliany range to its outlet into Eastern Virginia, at Ilarper's 



TOPOGRAPH r OF THE DISTRICT. 253 

Ferry. It is Lounded on the soutlieast by tlio Blue Kidgc, which 
runs, with remarkable continuity, for many hundred miles from 
northeast to southwest ; and on the other, side there is a siniilar 
parallel range, called the Great North Mountain. The space 
between the bases of these mountains varies from thirty to fifteen 
miles in width, but it is by no means filled by a level vale. The 
intervening country is one of unrivalled picturesqueness, variety, 
and fertility, whose hills, in some places, sink" into gentle swells 
of the most beautiful arable lands, and, in others, rise into moun- 
tains, only inferior to the great ranges which bound the district. 
Of these mountains, the most considerable is the Masanutthin, 
or Peaked Mountain, which is itself a range of fifty miles in 
length, and wMch, beginning twenty miles southwest of Win- 
chester, runs parallel to the Blue Ridge, including between 
them, for that distance, a separate valley of the same character. 
This space is occupied by the populous counties of Page and 
Warren, and watered by the main stream of the Shenandoah. 
It is only when the traveller, standing upon some Peak of the 
Blue Ridge or of the Great North IMountain, looks across to the 
other boundary, and, ranging his eyes longitudinally, sees the 
grand barriers extending their parallel faces to a vast distance, 
and losing themselves in the blue horizon, that he fully com- 
prehends the justness of the name. Valley of Virginia. The 
romantic hills and dales of the intermediate space are then, by 
comparison, lost to view, and the whole district presents itself as 
a gigantic vale. The streams which .descend from the abound- 
ing ranges of mountains, as well as those which rise between the 
Great North Mountain and the AUeghanies, pass along and 
across the valley obliquely, until they gather into sufficient 
volume to force their way to the ocean, as the Potomac, the 
James, and the Roanoke. The outlets from the Valley on either 
side are by railroad, or by turnpike roads, which pass through 



254 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

depressions of the mountains, called, in the language of tlic 
countiy, Gaps. The soil is almost uniformly calcareous, and 
tlic roads, where they are not paved, of heavy clay. The popu- 
lation at the beginning of the war was dcnsc,^ industrious, and 
loyal, the agriculture was skilful, and the whole goodly land 
teemed with grain, pasturage, horned cattle, swine, sheep, and 
horses. The manufacturing industry of this region was also 
prosperous, every" county boasting of its numerous mills or 
furnaces, for the production of woollen cloths, iron wares, and 
other staple supplies of an agricultural people. 

Between the Great North Mountain and the Alleghany is a 
rugged region, more extensive than the Valley proper, which is 
sometimes included under that term. It is almost filled with 
parallel ranges of mountains, which increase in altitude as the 
traveller proceeds westward, until he crowns the parent ridge 
itself. But hidden between these chains are a thousand valleys 
of unrivalled beauty and fertility, peopled with a happy and 
busy population. The most extensive of these is the far-famed 
valley of the south branch of the Potomac, which forms the 
'garden of three counties, Pendleton, Hardy, and Hampshire. 
The wide meadows which line this stream from its source to its 
mouth are fruitful beyond belief; thcii- prodigal harvests of hay 
and Indian corn, together with the sweetness of the upland 
pastures by which they arc bordered, make them the paradise 
of the grazier. As Winchester is the focal point and metropolis 
for tlic lower Valley, so Bomney, forty miles norihwest of it, is 
the key to the valley of the south branch (of the Potomac) and 
the capital of tlic great county of Hampshire. The nortli- 
wcstcrn turnpike, an admirable, paved road, beginning from the 
former place, passes through the latter on its way to the Ohio 
River, and crosses the highways which ascend the valleys of tho 
streams. 



BATTLE OF GREENBRIER RIVER. 255 

All this countiy, to tlie Alleghany crest, was included in Gen- 
eral Jackson's military district. The frontier, which he was 
required to guard against the enemy, was the whole line of the 
Potomac, from Harper's Ferry to its source in the mountain last 
named, and from that ridge to the place where the troops of 
General Lee were posted, after their ineffectual attempt upon 
Northwest Virginia. That commander had been recalled, to be 
employed in a more important sphere ; and his troops were left 
along the line which he had occupied under the command of 
Brigadier- Generals Henry Jackson and Loring. The first of 
these, with a detachment of that army, had, on the 8th of October, 
repulsed the Fedei'alists with the aid of Colonel Edward John- 
son, in a well-fought battle upon the head of the Greenbrier 
Eivcr, in Pochahontas county. But the only fruit of this victory 
which the Confederates gathered, was an unobstructed retreat to 
a stronger position, upon the top of the Alleghany mountains : 
another striking evidence of the soundness of General Jackson's 
theory concerning the campaign in the Northwest. Yet more 
surprising proof was furnished a few weeks later. On Decem- 
ber 13th, the same gallant little army was attacked in its new 
position on the Alleghany; and, under Edward Johnson, now 
Brigadier- General, the result was a brilliant victory over their 
assailants. As soon, as General Jackson heard of it, he again 
wrote, to urge that this force should be sent to him, and pre- 
dicted that, if it remained where it was, it would, before long, 
have no enemy in its front, and find the foe which it had beaten, ■ 
tlu-eatening its communications by the way of the South Branch. 
This was exactly verified. His advice was rejected ; and it was 
not many weeks until the victorious army was retreating to 
another position, on the Shenandoah mountain, forty miles to the 
rear. The explanation was, that the Federalists being in undis- 
turbed possession of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, were 



256 LIFB OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

able to occupy Ilarapsliire and ITardy, aud to ilircateii tlience 
the communications of the Confederates. 

General Jackson had not reached Winchester, before his fore- 
sight of these results induced him to urge upon the Government 
that plan of campaign which "was explained in the last chapter. 
Possessed of the keen appreciation of the value of time in war, 
he begi'udged the loss of every day. On the route to Winchester, 
he paused at a station, to Tvrite to an influential friend in Rich- 
mond, asking his aid to further his views ; and, through every 
proper channel, he continued to press them, until events forbade 
their execution. He proposed the immediate organization of a' 
winter campaign in the Northwest, to be conducted from Win- 
chester, by the way of the railroad and northwestern turnpike. 
He requested that all the forces of Generals Loring and John- 
son should be hurried to him, so as to constitute a body sufficient 
to sustaui itself. If it was suggested that the Federalists might 
take advantage of their withdrawal, to invade the central parts 
of the State, by crossing the mountains, his reply was, that it 
would be so much the worse for them. While they were march- 
ing eastward, involving themselves in those interminable obsta- 
cles, which had proved so disastrous to our arms there, he would 
be rapidly pouring his masses westward by railroad and turn- 
pike, would place liimself upon their communications, would 
close behind them, and would make their destruction so much 
the more certain, the farther they advanced towards their im- 
aginary prize. If the Confederate Government, he argued, 
delayed its efforts to recover the Northwest, it would then find 
the Federalists more firmly seated there; the loyalty of the 
inhabitants would be more corrupted by their blandishments 
and oppressions; the supplies, which should feed our soldiers, 
would be consumed by our enemies, and the country too much 
exhausted to sustam a vigorous campaign from its own re- 



REINFORCEMENTS. 257 

sources,' fortified posts would be created where none now 
existed J and, above all, tlic constant development of tlic mili- 
tary power of tlie United States under the management of Gen- 
eral M^Clellan, might occupy all our forces elsewhere. 

His representations were so far successful, that about the 
middle of November, his old Brigade was sent to him, with the 
Pendleton battery, now under the command of Captain McLaugh- 
lin. Early in December, Colonel William B. Taliaferro's brigade 
from the army of the Nortliwest, consisting of the 1st Georgia, 3d 
Arkansas, and 23d and 37th Virginia regiments, reached Win- 
chester. Near the close of December, the last reinforcements 
arrived from that army, under Brigadier-General Loring, con- 
sisting of the brigades of Colonel William Gilham, and Briga- 
dier-General S. R. Anderson. The former of these brigades 
embraced the 21st, 42d, and 4Sth regiments of Virginia, and the 
1st battalion of State Regulars, with Captain Marye's battery,- 
the latter, the 1st, 7th, and 14th regiments of Tennessee, and. 
Captain Shurmaker's battery. He now, at the end of December, 
found himself in command of about eleven thousand men, of 
whom three thousand were militia, while the j-emainder were 
the volunteer forces of the Confederacy. But the delay in 
assembling these was such, as nearly to blast his hopes. He 
had continued to urge that the command of Brigadier-General 
Edward Johnson, from the Alleghany, should be sent to him, or 
else directed to march northward through Hardy and Hampshire 
counties, to effect a junction with him near Romney ; but his 
advice was not adopted. This subtraction from his expected 
means, he declared, would be decisive against his cherished 
plan of penetrating to the Northwest. For, contemplating the 
repeated failures to which the Confederate cause had been con- 
demned in that quarter by inadequate means, he was determined 

33 



258 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

not to make an attempt witliout such forces as would make 
success possible. 

Just before General Jackson came to the Valley, Romney was 
occupied by a Federal force, which was speedily increased to 
GOOO men. At Williamsport, and neighboring points, were as 
many more. Beyond Harper's Ferry, General Banks was 
organizing a force of 2G,000 men, for the invasion of the Val- 
ley. Before the arrival of General Loring's command. General 
Jackson had to oppose nearly 40,000 enemies, with only 4000 
men, inclusive of his undisciplined militia; yet, if this force 
was increased to so many as 15,000, he had resolved to attempt 
the audacious enterprise of clearing away the foes who hung 
around his own district, and then invading another, occupied by 
an army as strong as his own. 

But his genius taught him that his safety lay in audacity. 
Winchester is the centre to which great thoroughfare^ converge, 
from Harper's Ferry on the northeast, from Martinsburg and 
Williamsport on the north, and from Romney on the northwest ; 
while another highway from the south branch would place his 
enemies twenty miles in his rear, at Strasburg. He said that 
unless Romney and the south branch were held, Winchester was 
untenable. It was true that his central position gave him the 
interior line of operations; but, to employ this advantage, it 
was necessary for him to strike one of his adversaries promptly. 
If he waited until they approached near enough to co-operate, 
and to hem him in by their convergent motions, he would have 
no alternative except precipitate retreat or surrender; hence 
his 1)urning anxiety to be in motion. His purpose was to assail 
the Federal General Kelly at Romney, first, so as to secure the 
western side of his district, as a preliminary, cither to his expe- 
dition into the Northwest, or, if that were surrendered, to his 
approaching contest with General Banks. It has already been 



WOULD HE HAVE SUCCEEDED ? 259 

indicated, that the late arrival of General Loring's brigades, 
and the refusal of the Government to send General Edward 
Johnson's, doomed the hopes of General Jackson to disappoint- 
ment as to the former enterprise. It may be useless to specu- 
late upon the results which he would have attained,' if it had 
been undertaken in good time. He never concealed his belief 
that the attempt was hazardous; but many would perhaps 
conclude that it was utterly rash ; and, in the latter opinion, it 
would appear the War Department concurred. The facilities 
which the Federalists enjoyed for pouring troops and supplies 
into Northwest Virginia, must ever have rendered its occupa- 
tion by. a Confederate force, an arduous task. Had General 
Jackson gone thither with 15,000 men, the countless hordes of 
United States troops, who, a liitle later, crushed the Confeder- 
ates at Fort Donelson, in spite of most heroic fighting, might 
have been directed upon him. If the skill and courage with 
which he evaded similar dangers in the famous campaign of the 
ensuing spring were forgotten, the conclusion would be reached, 
that in such an event his situation in the Northwest would be 
desperate. But the issue of that campaign has taught the 
world, that there is no limit to be set to the possibilities which 
genius, united to generous devotion, may achieve. Success 
would have turned mainly upon' the degree of support which 
the people of the Northwest would have given to the cause, 
when rallied under their favorite leader. And these specula- 
tions may be most safely dismissed, with a thankful acquiescence 
in the orderings of Divine providence, which forbade Jackson's 
making the great experiment, and preserved him for the service 
of his country on a still more important and glorious field. 

About the middle of November, General Jackson, busying 
himself, while he awaited his reinforcements, in organizing 
his command, adverted to the condition of his cavahy. This 



2 GO LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

consisted of several companies, raised in his district, which had 
no regimental formation. He' found serving with them Lieut.- 
Coloncl Turner Ashby, and, recognizing in him a kindred spirit, 
he assigned to him the chief command. From that day to his 
death this chivalrous officer served his general, as commander of 
cavalry, with untiring zeal and intelligence. He was a gentle- 
man of Fauquier county, of the best connexions, of spotless and 
amiable character, devoted to field sports and feats -of horse- 
manship, and Imown to be as modest and generous as he was 
brave. At the first outbreak of the war, he had flown to his 
country's service, had raised a company of cavalry, had assisted 
at the first capture of Harper's Ferry, and, during the summer 
campaign of 18G1, had distinguished himself by his devotion 
and vigilance, upon the outposts of the army, below that village. 
After it ceased to be an important position to the Confederates, 
ho was transferred to the Upper Potomac. There occurred the 
first of those daring exploits which soon surrounded his name 
with a halo of romance. A part of his command, under his 
beloved brother, Captain Richard Ashby, was assailed, in the 
county of Hampshire, by an overpowering force of Federal 
cavalry ; and, in the retreat which followed. Captain Ashby was 
overtaken, at an obstruction presented by the railroad track to 
the career of his horse, and was basely murdered, while pros- 
trate and helpless under his fallen steed. A few moments after. 
Turner Ashby, attracted by the firing, came up with a handful 
of fresh horsemen, and the enemy retired. He found his brother 
mortally wounded and insensible, and, kneeling beside his body, 
he raised his sword to heaven, and made a sacred vow to conse- 
crate his life afresh to delivering his country from the assassin 
foe. The assailants had retired to an island in the river, covered 
with shrubbery and driftwood, and there stood on the defensive, 
concealed in these hiding-places. Ashby now gathered a dozen 



COLONEL ASHBY. 20 I 

men, and, fording the stream under a shower of bullets, dashed 
among them, slew several men with his own hand, and' dispersed 
or captured the whole party. From the day he paid this first 
sacrifice to the manes of his murdered brother, he appeared a 
changed man.- More brave he could not be ; but while he wa.3, 
if possible, more kindly, gentle, and generous to his associates 
than before, there was a new solemnity and earnestness in his 
devotion to the cause of his country. He evidently regarded 
his life as no longer his own, and contemplated habitually its 
sacrifice in this war. He was, in his own eyes, as a man already 
dead to the world. His exposure of his person to danger be- 
came utterly reckless, and, wherever death flew thickest, thither 
he hastened, as though he courted its stroke. Yet his spirit was 
not that of revenge, but of high Christian consecration. To 
his enemies, when overpowered, he was still as magnanimously 
forbearing, as he was terrible in the combat. Henceforward, 
his activity, daring, and seeming immunity from wounds, filled 
the Federal soldiers with a species of superstitious dread. At 
the sound of his well-known yell, and the shout of "Ashby" 
from his men, they relinquished every thought of resistance, and 
usually fled without pausing to count the odds in their favor. 
To General Jackson he was eyes and ears. Ever guarding the 
outposts of his army with rare discretion, and sleepless vigi- 
lance, he detected the incipient movements of the enemy j and 
his sobriety of mind, which was equal to his dariuir. secured 
implicit confidence for his reports. 

In December, General Jackson determined to employ his 
enforced leisure in a local enterprise, which promised much 
annoyance to the enemy. This was the interruption of the 
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. The Potomac not being navigable 
above Washington city, a great canal had been begun from tide- 
water below that point, which was carried along the valley of 



2G2 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSOX. 

the river, Avitli tlie proud design of tlireading its highest tribu- 
taries, piercing tlie Alleghany ridge, and connecting the waters 
of Chesapeake Bay with those of the Ohio. It was not com- 
pleted farther than Cumberland, in western Maryland ; but this 
place is within the verge of the great coal-fields of that country, 
whence the cities of "Washington and Baltimore, the furnaces 
of the military factories at the Federal capital, and many of their 
war-steamers, were supplied with fuel. Besides, this canal offered 
the means for the speedy transportation of large masses of troops 
and supplies. Although the Confederates had interrupted the 
great railroad, by destroying the bridge at Harper's Ferry, and 
the whole track to Martinsburg, the Federal authorities had 
the unobstructed use of it from the Ohio River eastward to 
Cumberland. The destruction of the canal was therefore 
needed, to make the interruption complete. This work, ascend- 
ing the left, or north bank of the Potomac, receives its water 
from that river, which is raised to a sufficient height to feed it 
by a series of dams thrown across its channel. The most im- 
portant of these was the one known as Dam No. 5, built witliin 
a sharp curve of the river, concave towards the south, north of 
the town of Martinsburg. The sluices from above this barrier 
filled a long level of the canal, and its destruction left it dry, 
and useless for many miles ; Avhile no force would be adequate 
to rebuild it amidst the ice and freezing floods of winter. 

Jackson therefore marched to Martinsburg, December 10th, 
with a part of his militia, his cavalr}', and the Stonewall Brig- 
ade, and thence made his dispositions to protect tlie working 
party, who were to attempt the task of demolition. It was 
necessary to guard the whole circuit of the curve upon which 
the dam was situated, lest the enemy, who were in force on the 
other bank, should cross behind the detachment. General 
Jackson, sending the militia to make a diversion towards 



CHESAPEAKE AJSTD OHIO CANAL. 263 

Williamsport, entered the peninsula, posted the veteran brigade 
near the work, but behind a hill which protected them from the 
cannon planted upon the opposite bank, and, by night, he advanced 
his working party to the brink of the stream. A guard of rifle- 
men occupied a strong mill, whence they could deliver a murder- 
ous lire upon any detachment advancing to a near attack upon 
the workmen, while these speedily shielded themselves from the 
more distant sharpshooters in the cavities which they excavated 
in the doomed structure. Although the Federal General, Banks, 
assembled a large force on the other side, and cannonaded the 
Confederates, the work was continued from the 17th to the 21st 
of December, until a great chasm was made, through which the 
whole current of the river flowed down towards its original 
level, leaving the canal far above it drained of its waters. The 
most essential parts of the work were done by the gallant men 
of Captain Holliday, of the 33d, and Captain Robinson, of the 
27th Virginia regiments. These generous fellows volunteered 
to descend, by night, into the chilling waters, and worked under 
the ene^iy's fire, until the task was completed. The amount of 
fatigue which the men endured, laboring, as they constantly did, 
waist-deep in waier, and in the intense cold of winter, can never 
be sufficiently appreciated. The only loss, at the hand of the 
enemy, was that of one man killed, a member of the infantry 
guard which watched the work, but the efiects of such exposure 
could hardly fail to tell ruinously on the health and lives of 
many of those who executed the difficult and dangerous task. 

General Jackson returned to Winchester on December the 
2 5 til, and had the pleasure of meeting there the reinforcements 
which have been already mentioned, under Brigadier-General 
Loring. It was settled by the Government, that he should 
retain command of all the troops which he had brought with 
him, and be second to General Jackson. The weather wa? 



264 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

most propitious for tlic season, and the roads were still firm. 
He, therefore, determined to carry out that part of his original 
scheme, which, was still feasible, and to drive the Federalists 
from the western part of his district. At Bath, the scat of justice 
for Morgan County, a village forty miles north of Winchester. 
was a detachment of fifteen hundi-ed Federal soldiers, with two 
pieces of artillery, who grievously tyrannized Qver the loyal 
part of tlic inhabitants. At the village of Hancock, upon the 
opposite side of the Potomac, was another detachment. Romney 
upon the south branch, at a distance of about forty miles, was 
occupied by a force of the enemy now increased to at least ten 
thousand, who were fortifying themselves there, and ravaging 
all the fertile country about them. General Jackson intended 
to march rapidly upon the detachment at Bath and capture them, 
next, crossing the Potomac, to disperse the party at Hancock, 
and then, having cleared his rear, to proceed to Romney. The 
1st day of January, 1862, an April sun was shining, and the 
dust was flying in the roads. The whole army, with the excep- 
tion of the necessary detachments, began its march for Bath, 
numbering about 8500 men, with five batteries of artillery, and 
a few companies of cavalry. But, before the day was ended, a 
biting northwester began to blow, and this was succeeded by a 
freezing rain and snow, which sheathed the roads in ice. The 
hardships of the troops now became most severe. The march 
was pressed forward notwithstanding the inclement weather ; the 
soldiers were often unable to keep their footing upon the slippery 
mountain sides ; and, along the column, the accidental discharge 
of muskets frequently announced the fall of their owners. Tlie 
country was one of the roughest, and the roads selected were 
the most unfrequented, in order that the movement might be 
kept a secret. For several nights, the wearied troops bivouacked 
in the sleet and snow, without tents, rations, or blankets, because 



BATH AND ROMNEY. 265 

the baggage-train was unable to overtake them, and with the 
recklessness of new soldiers, they had refused, against orders, to 
carry them. The Stonewall Brigade bore these trials without 
murmuring, for their beloved General shared them all; but, 
among the reinforcements, the discontent was excessive, and was 
openly encouraged by a part of their officers, who pronounced 
the expedition rash, unreasonable, and out of season. General 
Jackson was cursed by many of them, for this adventure, and 
looked on as a maniac, for dragging his command through such a 
region, and at such a season. Many of the troops, taking coun- 
tenance from the unsoldierly complaints of their leaders, deserted 
the ranks under plea of sickness, and returned to Winchester. 
That town was soon thronged with many hundreds of these 
pretended invalids, who roamed the streets without control, and 
taxed the generous hospitality of the citizens. Jackson, never- 
theless, pressed on, and the third day, met the enemy's outposts 
a few miles from Bath. They were speedily driven in, and the 
army proceeding a little farther, encamped for the night. In 
the morning, January 4th, General Jackson made liis disposi- 
tions to surround and capture the enem}^ A body of militia 
had already been detached, to cross the mountain behind the 
village, and then approach it from the west. The main column 
was now pushed along the direct road, headed by General Lo- 
ring, while Colonels Maury and Campbell advanced upon the hill 
sides, on the left and right respectively, to surround the village. 
General Jackson complained much of the dilatory movements 
and repeated halts of the column. It seemed as though the 
whole day would be consumed in marching a few miles, until at 
length the wings were impelled forward with more energy, and a 
detachment of cavalry, headed by Licut.-Col. Baylor of the Gen- 
eral's staff, dashed into the town. At their approach the enemy 
fled without any resistance, leaving all their stores and camp 



266 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

equipage in tlic hands of the victors. General Jackson himself 
entered the place in advance of the skirmisliers of the main 
column; but so sluggish had been their movements, that tlie 
enemy was already out of sight. Their escape filled him with 
chagrin, and he instantly urged the pursuit, along the route by 
which they had fled. 

Bath is situated three miles from the Potomac, from which it 
is separated by a small mountain-ridge. Two roads lead to the 
river, one to the nearest railroad station, that of Sir Jolm's Run, 
and the other to Hancock, which is seated upon the opposite 
bank. By one of these two routes tlie Federalists must have 
escaped, but so dilatory had been the movements of General 
Loring's command, that even his skirmishers were not in sight 
of the rear of the fugitives, when they disappeared. It was not 
immediately apparent, therefore, by which of the roads the main 
body had gone. General Jackson, accordingly, divided his 
forces, sending a part of his cavalry, and General Loring's 
column, towards Hancock; the second Virginia brigade, under 
Colonel Gilham, and Captain WingQeld's company of cavalry, 
towards Sir Jolm's Run; and Colonel Rust with his and the 
37th Virginia regiments, and two field-pieces, by the western 
road, towards an important railroad bridge over the Great 
Capon river. The first of these detachments General Jackson 
accompanied. It speedily overtook the rear of the enemy, and 
drove them, with some loss, into Hancock. The General then 
crowned the southern bank of the river with artillery-, and fired 
a few shots into the town. This was in retaliation for the crime 
of the Federalists, who had repeatedly shelled the peaceful village 
of Shephcrdstown, on the south bank of the Potomac, when it 
was not used as a military position by the Confederates, and 
even when there was not a soldier near it. Jackson declared 
that they should be taught, such outrages could not bo pci'peti-atcd 



HANCOCK CA2S"N0NADED. 267 

with impunity ; and lie added, that, while he was in command of 
that district, the lesson was efficacious upon their dastardly 
natures. The 4tli of January was now closed by niglit, and the 
troops opposite the town again bivouacked in the snow. 

Meantime, the second column, directed towards Sir John's 
Run, had overtaken a considerable detachment of the enemy; 
but although the ground offered facilities for turning the position 
on which they stood at bay, no improvement was made of the 
opportunity, and the Federalists were allowed to escape unm.o- 
lested over the river, when they probably joined their comradan 
at Hancock. The third detachment under Colonel Eust pro- 
ceeded with more vigor. When near the Capon Bridge, they 
met a party of Federalists guarding that important structure, 
with whom they skirmished until night, suffering some loss, and 
inflictmg upon the enemy a more serious one. The next morn- 
ing, January 5th, having been reinforced by General Loring, 
they drove away the guard, destroyed the bridge and statiou- 
liouses, and pulled down a long tract of the telegraph wires, 
besides capturing great spoils. Thus, both railroad and tele- 
graph communication between the Federal commander at Rom- 
ncy and General Banks below, was effectually severed. The 
Confederates could now pursue their designs against the former 
without molestation from the latter, and beat each of them in 
detail. Such were the promising results, which seemed to be 
about to reward the vigorous use of the interior line of move- 
ments by Jackson. 

But he did not propose to leave the party at Hancock so near 
his line of communications. On the morning of January 5th, 
he summoned the place to surrender, and notified the Federal 
commander, that if he declined to accept this proposal lie must 
remove the non-combatants, as he proposed to cannonade the 
place in good earnest. The bearer of the summons was the 



268 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

gallant Colonel Asliby. As he was led, blindfold, up the streets, 
he overheard the Federal soldiers whispering the one to the 
other, "That is the famous Colonel Ashby; " and soon the sup- 
pressed hum of a crowd told liim that they were thronging 
around, to catch a sight of tlie warrior, whose name had so often 
carried confusion into thcu' ranks. The Federal commander 
refused cither to evacuate the place, or to remove the females 
and children, and claimed that, if the cannonade took place, the 
guilt of shedding their blood would rest upon the Confederates, 
— a preposterous and impudent pretension, especially when 
coming from a party which has burned so many peaceful dwell- 
ings, and so often shelled unresisting towns without notice. The 
true motive of the claim was obvious. The Yankee thought 
that the humanity of General Jackson was so great, it would 
permit liim to skulk safely behind the skirts of the women. 
But the Confederate General was as clear-sighted and vigorous 
as he was humane. After the time had elapsed which he had 
announced in his challenge, he opened a hot cannonade from 
a score of guns, and speedily drove every Federal soldier out 
of the town, or into some invisible hiding-place. At the same 
time, a detachment was busy preparing to construct a bridge 
across the Potomac, two miles above, that the Confederates 
might attack them on the Maryland side ; but before this work 
Tvas completed, they received reinforcements so numerous, that 
General Jackson judged it inexpedient to risk the loss which 
would be incurred in defeating them, when every man was 
needed for the attainment of his great object, the deliverance 
of Romncy and the South Branch. Believing, therefore, that 
the enemy in this Oj^uartcr were sufficiently chastised to cause 
them to respect his further movements, and, secure in another 
line of communication with Winchester, far to the south of 



JACKSON MAECHES ON ROJINEY. 2G9 

Bath, even if the latter place were re-occupied by them, he 
determined to move westward without further delay. 

Having destroyed all the spoils which he lacked means to 
remove, he left Hancock on January 7th, and returned to the 
main Eomney highway, reaching a well-known locality called 
Unger's Store, the same evening. On that day his advanced 
forces, consisting of a regiment of militia and a section of 
artillery, had an unfortunate affair with the Federalists at 
Hanging Rock, fifteen miles from Romney, in which two guns 
were lost by the Confederates ; but the difficulties of the roads 
and season compelled General Jackson to halt here, to collect 
and refresh his wearied men, and to prepare the horses of Ms 
artillery and baggage-trains for their labors. The roads over 
the mountain-ranges were now sheeted with firm and smooth 
ice, upon which the wearied animals could keep no footing. 
Bruised, and sometimes bleeding from their falls, they had 
struggled thus far, only dragging the trains a few miles daily, 
by the most cruel exertions. The order was now given to 
replace their shoes with new ones, constructed so as to give 
them a firm foothold upon the ice. In this way the time was 
consumed until the 13th, when the army resumed the march, 
and the General, with the advanced infantry, entered Romney 
on the 14th of Januar}^ But on the 10th, the Federal com- 
mander had taken the alarm, and retreated precipitately to the 
northwestern part of Hampshire. The hope of making a 
brilliant capture of prio'oners was again disappointed. The 
flight of the enemy was only witnessed by two of Ashby's 
cavalry companies, which were pressing close upon their rear. 
It was some solace, however, to the conquerors, to find their 
tents standing, with all their camp equipments, and their maga- 
zines filled with valuable military stores, which fell into the 
hands of the Confederates. This retreat was an emphatic 



270 LIFE OP IJEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON". 

testimony to the dread M-Iiich the vigor of Jackson already 
inspired iu his enemies. With a force larger than his ovm, 
they feared to meet him in a most defensible position, which 
they had selected and entrenched at their leisure. When he was 
yet more than a day's march distant, they fled in such panic as 
to leave behind them the larger part of their equipage ! 

But cowardice like this was the natural sequel to the barbari- 
ties by which they had disgraced the name of soldiers. As soon 
as the Confederates passed Hanging Rock, they began to see 
marks of desolation, then new, but now, alas ! familiar to their 
eyes. Nearly every dwelling, mill, and factory, between- that 
place and Romney, was consumed ; the tanneries were destroyed, 
and the unfinished. hides slit into ribbons; the roadside was 
strewed with the carcasses of milk-kine, oxen, and other domestic 
animals, shot down in mere wantonness. As they came in 
view of the town, lately smiling in the midst of rural beauty, 
scarcely anything appeared, by which it could be recognized by 
its own children, save the everlasting hills which surround it. 
Gardens, orchards, and out-buildings, with their enclosures, were 
swept away ; the lawns were trampled by cavalry horses into 
mire ; many of the dwellings were converted into stables, and 
the blinds and wainscot torn down for fuel ; and every church, 
save one, which the Federal commander reserved for the pious 
uses of his own chaplains, was foully desecrated. And these 
outrages had no pretext, for the despoilers had found Romney 
a defenceless town, and had entered it at their leisure, without 
resistance. Their crimes are detailed here, not because the 
fate of this once charming village has been peculiar among the 
towns cursed by Federal occupation. If every such instance, 
which has been added in the progress of the war, were detailed 
with a similar truthful particularity, the narrative would only 
be extended, and marked with a dreary and repulsive monotony. 



FEDERAL RAVAGES REPROBATED BY JACKSON. 271 

But it is just, that this beginning of sorrows should be fixed in 
history, for the everlasting infamy of the Federals, and as an 
example of the never-to-be-forgotten acts of barbarity which the 
Southern people have endured at their hands. Let the solemn 
testimony of Jackson against the perpetrators stand recorded, 
as long as his great name is revered among men. His official 
report of the campaign is closed with these words : — "I do not 
feel at liberty to close this report without alluding to the con- 
duct of the reprobate Federa.1 commanders, who, in Hampshire 
county, liave not only burned valuable mill-property, but also 
many private houses. Their track from Eomney to Hanging- 
Rock, a distance of fifteen miles, was one of desolation. The 
number of dead animals lying along the roadside, where they 
had been shot by the enemy, exemplified the spirit of that part 
of the Northern army." 

On the 16tli of January, the whole Confederate army was 
again assembled near Romney. It was ascertained that the 
retreating force had gone to the neighborhood of Cumberland, 
in Maryland, a town on the north side of the Potomac, and 
opposite to the northwestern border of Hampshire county. 
Three important railroad bridges required their oversight in 
that region. One of these crossed Patterson's Creek, near its 
entrance into the river. A little west of this spot, the railroad, 
which pursues the southern bank for more than fifty miles, 
crosses to the other side, and continues upon the northern 
margin to Cumberland; above which it returns to the soil of 
Virginia. Two massive and costly bridges span t!ie river at 
these crossings. By destroying these bridges, communication 
between the Federalists at Cumberland, and the army of Gen- 
eral Banks in the lower Yalley, would be more effectually 
severed. But more than this : since the force which had invaded 
Hampshire drew its supplies from the west by the railroad, 



272 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

these breaches in its continuity would restrict their future opcrft- 
tions to the eastward, inasmuch as they would entail upon them, 
as they advanced, a continually lengthening line of transportation 
l)y wagons. On the arrival of the main body of his troops, 
(General Jackson instantl}'" prepared to press onward to New 
Creek. This stream, flowing northward, enters the Potomac at 
the western extremity of Hampshire county, and above Cumber- 
land; but in consequence of its situation upon the apex of a 
great angle of the river, the road which conducts to tliat town 
from Romney is much longer than the one leading to the mouth 
of New Creek. lie purposed, tlierefore, to proceed to the 
latter spot, and, placing himself above the enemy, to destroy 
the bridge across the Potomac, above Cumberland, first, thus 
insulating them from theii' western base. He selected the Stone- 
wall Brigade, and that of Colonel Taliaferro, from the army of 
General Loring, to perform this service under his own eye ; but 
when he was ready to march, he discovered that the discontent 
and disorganization had proceeded so far in the latter brigade, 
that they were not to be trusted for so responsible a service. 
With deep mortification and reluctance, he therefore relinquished 
further aggressive movements, and prepared to defend what he 
liad already won ; and this, although less than he belipved a 
more efficient army would have realized for him, was by no 
means little. In sLxteen days, he had driven the enemy out of 
his whole district, except a few miles which they occupied at its 
extreme corner ; had liberated tliree counties from their tyranny, 
securing for the Confederate cause their riches of corn and cattle ; 
had rendered the railroad useless to the enemy for a hundi^ed 
miles ; and had captured stores almost equal to the equipment 
of an army like his own. On the first day of January, scarcely 
a man in those counties, loyal to liis State, could remain at his 
home, Avithout danger of persecution or arrest. The dominion 



HIS COLIMAND IN WINTER QUARTERS. 273 

of law and peace was now restored to all tlio citizens. Ail thia 
had been accomplished with a loss of four men killed, and 
twenty-eight wonnded. 

General Jackson now proceeded to place the command of 
General Loring in winter qiiarters, near Romnej, and to canton 
Boggs' brigade of militia along the south branch, from that town 
to JMoorefield, with three companies of cavalry for duty upon the 
outposts. The remainder of the cavahy and militia returned to 
Bath, or to the Yalley, to guard its frontier ; and the Stonewall 
Brigade was placed in winter quarters as a reserve, near Win- 
chester. Having begun these dispositions, General Jackson 
returned to the latter place on the 24th of January. He was 
uneasy lest General Banks should initiate some movements in 
his absence. General Loring was left in command at Bomney, 
with his tln-ee brigades, and thirteen pieces of artillery. The 
militia force upon his left placed him in communication with the 
army of General Edward Johnson, upon the Alleghany Moun- 
tain ; for a forced march of three days would have brought those 
troops to IMoorefield. At Winchester, forty miles from Eomne^', 
was the Stonewall Brigade, ready to launch itself from its central 
position upon any point of the circumference which was assailed, 
and it was to be immediately connected with General Boring's 
forces by a new line of telegraph. Bonmey itself oJBTers an ex- 
ceedingly defensible position. It is situated in the Yalley of the 
south branch, twenty miles from the Potomac, and it could be 
approached, from the direction of the enemy, only by two roads. 
Of these, one ascends the valley of the river, and the other 
crosses the mountain-ridge separating it from the vale of Patter- 
son's Creek by a narrow defile. Both these routes pass through 
gorges in approaching the town, where the sides are utterly im- 
practicable for artillery, and a regiment might hold a host at bay. 
East of Romney lies a low mountain, not commanded from any 

35 



27-i LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

other liciglit, but commanding ths town completely^ as well as the 
highway to Winchester. The General who knew how to use 
these advantages, might reasonably count on defending liimself 
against threefold odds, long enough to receive succor from the 
latter place. Finally, the loyal farmers of the south branch 
offered, from their magnificent plantations, abundant supplies for 
the whole winter ; or, if these failed, the way was open, by a drive 
of twenty-live miles, to the broad fields and teeming granaries 
of the Great Yalley. General Jackson designed that the 
troops, after the construction of their winter quarters, should at 
once strengthen their position by entrenchments ; and, to this 
end, he urgently requested that an able engineer should be sent 
to him. " 

Upon his return to "Winchester, he found the country full of 
debate and difference concerning his movements. No one pre- 
sumed to dispute his courage and devotion, and many had 
perspicacity enough to perceive, in his administration, tlve 
promise of a great commander. But the larger number pro- 
fessed to depreciate his capacity, and not a few declared 
that he was manifestly mad. They said that the man had 
a personal disregard of danger, a hardihood of temper, and a 
stubbornness, which made him a good fighter, where he was 
guided by a wiser head; that he was competent to lead a 
brigade well on the parade ground, or the battle-field, but had 
no capacity adequate to the management of a separate com- 
mand, and an extensive district; that his headstrong and 
unreasoning zeal, with his restless thirst for distinction, thrust 
him into enterprises which he lacked discretion to conduct to a 
prosperous issue, and that it was only good fortune, or the 
better judgment of his reluctant subordinates, in lagging behind 
his rash intentions, which saved his army from a catastrophe. 
His wintry march, with the hardships of his men, exaggerated 



Jackson's ability ckiticised. 275 

in every form by the interested falselioods of the strag-glers, 
was denounced as inhuman. They forgot that the unreasonable 
period to which the expedition was delayed was the fault of 
others, and was deplored and condemned by him more than by 
any one else. They refused to consider that he had shared all 
the hardships of the freezing sleet, and snowy bivouac, and the 
cold vigils, with his men, and had endured them cheerfull}\ 
They were ignorant of the careful and able arrangements which 
he had made for their comfort. So anxious was he that every 
supply for their wants should accomf)any them, that when Jiis 
chief commissary was consulting him as to the selection of the 
rations to be transported behind the army, and proposed to 
take no rice along, inasmuch as it was a species of food seldom 
preferred by the troops, he dissented, and ordered several 
tierces to be carried, saying that his soldiers must lack for 
nothmg which they were accustomed to enjoy, so long as it wa3 
practicable to furnish it. He was also charged by his critics 
with being partial to his old brigade, Jackson's pet lambs, as 
they were sneeringiy called j it was said that he kept them in 
the rear, while other troops were constantly tlu-ust into danger ; 
and that now, while the command of General Loring was left 
in mid-winter in an alpine region, almost within the jaws of a 
powerful enemy, these favored regiments were brought back to 
the comforts and hospitalities of the town, whereas, in truth, 
while the forces in Romney were ordered into huts, this brigade 
was tlu-ee miles below Winchester, in tents, and under the most 
rigid discipline. And what would have been the outcry of the 
objectors had General Jackson left the old brigade with General 
Loring, and brought away a part of his troops, which had been 
assured to him by special pledge of the Government? His 
secrecy, which was absolute as that of the grave, piqued the 



276 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

curiosity and sclf-importanco of these cavillers. But had ha 
condescended to explain, they would not have been able to 
comprehend his policy. Necessities which were plain in 
the future to his prophetic eye, they could not see. . His 
far-reaching combinations were beyond their grasp; hence, 
to their imperfect view, the movements, which are now recog- 
nized as the promptings of a profound and original genius, 
appeared to be the erratic spasms of rashness. And truth 
requires the statement, that not a few of his subordinates so far 
forgot the proprieties of their honorable profession, as to echo 
these criticisms and lend them all their credit. Especially were 
such persons found among those who had lately come under his 
command. They were unaccustomed to a military regimen so 
energetic as his. For while he was, personally, the most modest 
of men, ofliciall}', he was the most exacting of commanders; 
and his purpose to enforce a thorough performance of duty, 
and his stern disapprobation of remissness and self-indulgence, 
were veiled by no affectations of politeness. Hence, those who 
came to serve near his person, if they were not wholly like- 
minded with himself, usually underwent, at first, a sort of 
breaking in, accompanied with no little chafing to restive spirits. 
The expedition to Romney was, to these officers, just such an 
apprenticeship to Jackson's method of making war. All this 
was fidly known to him ; but while he keenly felt its injustice, 
he disdained to resent it, or to condescend to any explanation 
of his policy. 

On the 31st of January, he was astounded by the receipt of 
the following order, by telegraph,. from the Secretary of "War: 
— " Our news indicates that a movement is making to cut off 
General Loring's command; order him back to Winchester 
immediately." The explanation was, that a number of officers 



TROOPS RECALLED FROM ROJINEY. 277 

from that command, as soon as it was ordered into winter 
quarters, had obtained furloughs and repaired to Richmond, 
where thej busily filled the ears of the public and the Govern- 
ment wiUi complaints of the exposed and hazardous position 
assigned them, and the rashness and severity of General 
Jackson's rule. A petition for the recall of the troops was 
actually signed among them, and the General complained, with 
justice, that it was not more positively discountenanced by their 
commander. It filled him with indignation, to see men bearing 
their country's commission, assigning the presence of danger as 
the ground of their complaints, as though it were not a soldier's 
profession to brave dagger; and when the withering rejoinder 
was at hand, that, if indeed the men intrusted to their care were 
in such peril, then it was no time for a gallant officer to be 
wasting his days on a furlough, amidst the luxuries and 
cabals of a far-distant capital. The demand for the recall 
of the troops, without reference to the commander of the 
district, directly impugned his vigilance and good judgment. 
Yet the Secretary of War, misguided by the urgency of 
the discontented officers, gave the peremptory order, without 
consultation either with General Jackson, or General Joseph E. 
Johnston, the Commander-in-Chief of the whole department. 
The injury thus done to the authority and self-respect of 
both these officers is too obvious to need illustration. Of the 
personal element of wrong, Jackson seemed to feel little, and 
he said nothing. But, considering his usefulness in his District 
at an end under such a mode of administration, he instantly 
determined to leave it. The reply which he sent to the War 
department is so good an example of military subordination, 
and, at the same time, of manly independence, that it should 
be repeated. 



278 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXEKAL JACKSON. 

♦' Head-Quarteus, Valley District, 
"Hon. J. P. Benjamiit, January Zlst, 18G2. 

Sec. of War. 

"Sir, — Your order rcquirmg me to direct General Loring 
to return with his command to Winchester, immediately, has 
been received, and promptly complied with. 

" With such interference in my command, I cannot expect to 

be of much service in the field, and accordingly respectfully 

request to be ordered to report for duty to the Superintendent 

of the Virginia Military Institute, at Lexington ; as has been 

done in the case of other professors. Should this application 

not be granted, I respectfully request that the President will 

accept my resignation from the Army. — Respectfully, etc., your 

obed. scrv., 

" T. J. Jacksox." 

This conditional resignation he forwarded through the ap- 
pointed channel, the head-quarters of his Commander-in-Chief. 
At the same time, to make one more effort for preventing the 
injury, he wrote requesting that General Jolmston would coun- 
termand the order for the retreat. To his adjutant he- said, 
"' The Secretary of War stated, in the order requiring General 
Loring's command to fall back to this place immediately, that he 
had been informed the command was in danger of being cut off. 
Such danger, I am well satisfied, does not exist, nor did it, in my 
opinion, exist at the time the order was given ; and I therefore 
respectfully recommend that the order be countermanded, and 
that General Loring be required to return with his command to 
he neighborhood of Romney." But the Commander-in-Chief, 
although concurring in liis opmions of the campaign, did not 
tliiuk it best to assume the responsibility of giving the order; 
and all the troops returned to the vicmify of Winchester. 
General Jolmston detained the resignation for a time, and 



JACKSON EESIGNS. 279 

immediately wrote to General Jackson, in terms alike honorable 
to his own magnanimity, and to the reputation of the latter. 
Descending from the position of his commander to that of a 
friend and brother-in-arms, he declared his full approval of his 
disposition of the forces, and his belief that the order of which 
he complained was injurious to the country, and to his official 
rights ; yet, expressing an exalted appreciation of his value to 
the cause, he besought him to waive every personal interest, 
to hold even his just rights in abeyance, and to sacrifice every- 
thing for his native land. 

The news of his resignation aroused a vivid excitement in the 
army, the capital, and the State at large, which showed that, not- 
withstanding the criticisms of his enemies, he had gained a firm 
hold upon the affections of his countrymen. Their sympathies 
were warmly with him against the Government. They were 
outraged, that the only army which had marched, and which had 
won anything from the enemy, should be thus arrested. Indeed 
the decision and dignity of his attitude silenced at once the voices 
of the fault-finders ; and they seemed to concur in the general 
feeling of the people of his district, wliich regarded him as their 
bulwark and deliverer. He was besieged with solicitations 
from soldiers, citizens, and clergymen, far and near, appealing 
to his patriotism, to subordinate . his sense of injustice to the 
public good, and assuring him that, with his resignation, the 
hopes of the people would sink. The Governor of the State, 
besides writing to urge his continuance in the service, sent a 
friend of the greatest weight in the Commonwealth to expostu- 
late in person against his intended retirement. To all these 
General Jackson made the same reply. To the Governor, he 
had tersely stated the grounds of liis decision in the following 
words : — " The order was given without consulting me ; it is 
abandoning to the enemy what has cost' much preparation, 



280 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

expense, and exposure to secure ; it is in direct conflict with my 
military plans ; it implies a want of confidence in my capacity 
to judge when General Loring's troops should fall back ; and it 
is an attempt to control military operations in detail, from the 
Secretary's desk at a distance." To his ambassador, he now 
added, that he had no personal pique to satisfy j for, however 
he might feci at another time, that he himself was wronged, the 
hour of his country's extremity was no occasion to weigh private 
grievances. Neither had he any complaint to lodge against his 
superior, the Secretary of War; but, presuming tliat he was a 
considerate and firm man, he must infer that the order given in 
this case was an example of his intended system of manage- 
ment. And, then, he was satisfied that he could not hope to 
serve his country usefully or successfully under such a system. 
But it was the rule of his life never to hold a position where he 
could not be useful ; his conscience forbade it. Pie had not 
sought command because it was sweet to him ; he had no ambi- 
tion to gratify j the soldier's stormy career had no allurements 
for him ; and nothing on earth, save the hope of being useful to 
his injured country, had ever persuaded him to forego the 
happiness of a beloved home, and a congenial occupation, 
for the daily martyrdom of his present cares. Now that 
this hope was extinguished, he felt that the voice of duty, which 
alone had driven him out from his happy privacy, not only per- 
mitted, but commanded his return to it. It was answered that 
he should be willing to make sacrifices to serve his country, in 
her hour of need. "Sacrifices!" he exclaimed; "have I not 
made them ? What is my life here but a daily sacrifice ? Nor 
shall I ever withhold sacrifices for my country, where they will 
avail anything. I intend to serve her, anywhere, in any way in 
which I am permitted to do it with cfl'ect, even if it be as a private 
soldier. But if this method of making war is to prevail, which 



aOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA RECALLS HIS RESIGNATION. 281 

they seek to establish iii my case, the country is ruined. My 
duty to her requires that I shall utter my protest against it in 
the most energetic form in my power ; and that is, to resign." 
And then, traversing the floor of his chamber with rapid strides, 
he burst into an impetuous torrent of speech, in which ho detailed 
his comprehensive projects with a Napoleonic fire and breadth 
of view ; his obstacles, created by the reluctance and incompeten- 
cy of some, with whom he had been required to co-operate ; his 
hardships, and the heroic spirit of his troops ; the brilliant suc- 
cess with which Providence had crowned his first steps, and the 
cruel disappointment which dashed the fruit of all his labors. 
For a long time lie was inexorable ; but at last, when he was 
told that the Governor had, in the name of Virginia, withdrawn 
his resignation from the files of the War Department, and re- 
quested that action should bo suspended upon it until an attempt 
was made to remove his grounds of difficulty, he consented to 
acquiesce in this arrangement. 

In a few days he received the assurance, that it had never 
been the purpose of the Government to introduce the obnoxious 
system against which he protested. Accepting this as a suf- 
ficient guarantee that his command would not hereafter be 
subjected to such a system of interference, he quietly left his 
resignation in the hands of the chief magistrate of the State, 
and resumed his tasks. 

In this transaction, General Jackson gained one of his most 
important victories for the Confederate States. Had the system 
of encouragement to the insubordination of inferiors, and of 
interference with the responsibilities of commanders in the field, 
which was initiated in his case, become established, military suc- 
cess could gnly have been won by accident. By his firmness, 
the evil usage was arrested, and a lesson impressed both upon 
the government and the public opinion of the coimtry, which 

36 



282 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

warrants that it will not soon be revived. Whether he hjid 
any expectation of this result, when he demanded a release 
from- the service, it is useless to surmise: if he had, his sound 
judgment taught him that the way to secure this issue was 
to seem not to expect it, but to offer an explicit resignation, 
and to act as though he anticipated nothing else than its cer- 
tain acceptance. 

The one instance in which he betrayed the emotions wliich 
were aroused by the affair, has been related. In no other case 
did he show a shade of feeling, and the grandest impression 
which the people about him ever received of the greatness of 
his moral nature, was that made by his demeanor under this 
trial. He uttered no complaint against his detractors or his 
superiors, and calmly refused to listen to those who endeavored, 
in that form, to express their sympathy with his wrong. "While 
he thanked them for their partial estimate of his value to the 
country, he exliorted them, for his sake, not to relax anything of 
their own zeal ; and he showed the same care and diligence in 
preparing everything for the advantage of his unknown suc- 
cessor, as though he had expected to continue in permanent 
command of the district. Concerning the operations of his 
a.vmy he had always been obstinately silent, and repelled in- 
quiry with sternness. It appeared that this reserve was dic- 
tated, not by pride or love of power, but by a sense of duty. 
Now that the concern respected his own interests, he had no 
secrecy, and invited the most candid expressions of opinion; 
save that he would not permit any denunciations of those who, 
as his friends supposed, had sought to injure him. As soon as 
the affair was terminated, it was banished from his conversation, 
and he was never again heard to allude to the actors in it, ex- 
cept where he could honestly applaud them. lie appeared to be 
elevated wholly above all the infirmities of passion; and tho 



niS CHRISTIAN SPIRIT. 283 

only human emotion wliicli was apparent, even to bis wife, who 
was then on a visit to him, was the revival of his genial gaietj, 
at the prospect of their speedy return to their home. 

His domestic tastes led him, whenever his duties confined him 
to the town, to take his meals with the family of a congenial 
Christian friend. To them there appeared, dui'ing these trials, 
the most beautiful display of Christian temper. His dearest re- 
laxation from the harassing cares of his command, were the 
caresses of the children, and the prayers of the domestic altar. 
When he led in the latter, as he was often invited to do, it was 
with increasing humility and tenderness. A prevalent petition 
was that they "might grow in gentleness;" and he never spoke 
of his difficulties, except as a kind discipline, intended for his 
good, by his Hoavenly Father. 

The inexpediency of the evacuation of Romney was soon 
manifested. The ice of January was now replaced by the mud 
of February;' and the deficiency of transportation, with the 
timid haste of the retreat, caused a loss of tents and military 
stores, equal to all which had been won in the advance. The 
enemy immediately assumed the aggressive again, and reoccu- 
pied Romney in force. February 12th they seized Moorefield, 
and on the 14th they surprised and routed the advanced force, 
composed of a small brigade of militia, stationed at Bloomery 
Gap, twenty-one miles from Winchester, capturing a number of 
prisoners. Two days after. Colonel Ashby, with his cavalry, 
recovered the pass, which the Federalists had left in the keeping 
of a detacluuent ; but they remd,ined firmly established beyond 
it, with a force of 12,000 men. The whole valley of the South 
Branch was now open to their incursions. Good roads led up 
this stream from Moorefield to its head, far in the rear of 
General Edward Johnson's position on the Alleghany, which the 
enemy had found so impregnable in front. The prediction of 



284 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

General Jackson was no'w verified, and that force, to save its 
communications, was after a little compelled to retire to the 
Shenandoah mountain, only twenty-five miles from Staunton, thus 
surrendering to the inroads of the Federalists the three counties 
of Pendleton, Highland, and Eath. Winchester was again ex- 
posed to the advance of the enemy from four directions. 

The difficulties of General Jackson's position were, at the 
same time, aggravated by a diminution of his force. General 
Loriug having been assigned to a distant field of operations, his 
command was divided between the Valley and Potomac districts. 
The brigade of General Anderson, composed of Tennessee 
troops, was sent, with two regiments from that of Colonel Talia- 
ferro, to Evansport, on General Johnston's extreme right. The 
brigade of Colonel Gilham, now commanded by the gallant 
Colonel J. S. Burks, was retained by General Jackson, and was 
henceforth denominated the 2d Brigade of the Army of the Val- 
ley. Two Virginia regiments only, the 23d and 37th, remained 
to Colonel Taliaferro. These, increased afterwards by the ad- 
dition of the 10th Virginia, composed the 3d Brigade of the 
Army of the Valley. The three militia brigades were continu- 
ally dwindling through defective organization, and before the 
opening of the active campaign they were dissolved. The con- 
scription law of the Confederate Congress was passed not long 
after, which released the men over thirty-five years old, and 
swept the remainder into the regular regiments of the provi- 
sional army. When the Tennessee regiments were sent away, 
February 22d, General Jackson informed the Commander-in- 
Chief that his position required at least 9,000 men for its de- 
fence, threatened as it was by two armies of 12,000 and 36,000 
respectively. His cflective strength was "now reduced to about 
6,000; but he still declared that, if the Federalist generals 
advanced upon him, he should march out and attack the ono 



PEDEEAL FORCES OPPOSED TO JACKSON. 285 

■who approaclied first. The force on the south branch was now 
commanded by General Lander, and was concentrated about a 
locality on the Baltimore and Ohio Eailroad called Paw Paw, 
thirty-five miles from "Winchester. The importance of the ex- 
pedition which Jackson had been so anxious to make in January, 
to destroy the great bridges about Cumberland, was now mani- 
fest. This force was able to draw its supplies by railroad from 
the west, and to bring them unobstructed to the Great Capon 
Bridge. That work they were rapidly rebuilding, and nothing 
could be anticipated but that, on its completion, they would 
break into the valley, in concert with General Banks, from the 
northeast. The latter commander had been hitherto inactive, 
but it was known that he had a large force cantoned at 
Frederick City, Hagerstown, and Williamsport, in Mar3*land. 
His first indications were, that he was moving his troops up the 
northern bank of the Potomac, and effecting a junction with 
General Lander, by boats constructed at Cumberland and 
brought down the stream. But this movement, if it was not a 
feint, was speedily reconsidered. On the 25th of February he 
crossed at Harper's Ferry with 4000 men, and by the 4th of 
March had established his head-quarters at Charlestown, seven 
miles in advance. The remainder of his force was brought over, 
from time to time, until he, with General Shields, had now col- 
lected about 36,000 men at that place; Harper's Ferry and 
Martinsburg. 

A General of less genius than Jackson would have certainly 
resorted to laborious entrenchments, as an expedient for repair- 
ing the inequality of his force. But he constructed no works 
for the defence of Winchester. To an inquiry of General Hill, 
he replied, ^-I am not fortifying; my position can be turned 
on all sides." Knowing that, if he enclosed himself in forts, 
the superior forces of the Federalists would envelop him, he 



286 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

refused to construct works for them to occupy, after his enforced 
evacuation. He hoped to return upon them some day, and did not 
desire to have the necessity of reducing his own fortifications. 
His strategy sympathized always "with that of the Douglas, who 
" preferred rather to hear the lark sing, than the rat squeak." 

General Jackson, perceiving tliat the Commander-in-Chief 
would not be able to give hhn the aid he desired, looked next 
for co-operation to the force stationed at Leesburg, in Loudoun 
county, under General D. H. Hill. By providing means of rapid 
transit across the Shenandoah at Castleman's Ferry, and estab- 
lishing a telegraph line between Leesburg and Winchester, he 
proposed to secure a concentration of the two forces by two 
days' march at most. lie also advised that General Hill should 
proceed to the Loudoun heights, in the northwest corner of that 
county, and station some artillery upon the mountain there over- 
looking Harper's Ferry, so as to make the ferry across the 
stream so hazardous, and the village so untenable, as to compel 
General Banks to relinquish that line of approach. But tlie 
duty of guarding his own position forbade General Hill to ex- 
tend to him the proposed assistance. He therefore busied 'him- 
self in removing his sick, and his army stores to Mount Jackson, 
in Shenandoah county, in order to be prepared either for a 
desperate resistance at Winchester, or for a safe retreat. While 
he was thus occupied, Ihe winter ended, and the spring campaign 
opened in good earnest; and, before the summer was over, 
General Jackson, up to this period comparatively unknown, won 
for himself a world-wide reputation, by a scries of the most 
brilliant achievements ; in which, with a mere handful of troops, 
he again and again swept tliousands of the enemy before him, 
and, passing swiftly and silently from point to point, burst like 
a tliunderbolt upon the foe, when least expected, and at tho 
decisive hoiu\ 



GENERAL VIEW OF THE CAMPAIGNS OP 18G2. 287 



CHAPTER IX. 

GENERAL VIEW OF THE CAMPAIGNS OP 18G2. 

The campaigns of 18G1 had been but a prelude to tlie gi- 
c-antic strufr2;le wliicli was to be witnessed in 18G2. The 
prowess and superiority which the Confederates cverj-whcre 
displayed, rudely awakened the people of the United States 
from their dreams of an easy conquest, and exasperated their 
pride and revenge. The Washington Government now resolved 
upon a new policy. This was, to raise armies so vast, and to 
add to their momenUm by such deliberate preparation, as to 
overwhelm their gallant enemies by material weight. Under 
the industrious management of General M-Clellan, their levies 
reached, if they were to be believed, the enormous number of 
seven hundred thousand men ; and it is probable that more than 
half a million were actually under arms, and drilling with the 
greatest care. Hitherto, the different campaigns had been de- 
tached, but in 1862 they assumed connexion with each other. 
Tlic movements in Virginia were related to those in the Great 
West, and the brilliant events in the district commanded by 
General Jackson had a vital influence upon the campaign in 
Virginia. 

In vrriting the military history of this great commander, two 
objects must be kept in view. One will be to explain the 
strategic grounds which support the propriety of his own 
movements: the other, to show the intimate connexion of his 



288 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

successes with tlie fortunes of the war. Many persons have 
claimed his career as an illustration of the uselessncss of the 
science of warfare, and an instance of success in defiance of it. 
They have conceived of him as a leader who discarded rules, 
and trusted only to his fortunate star, to rapidity of movements, 
and to hard blows. They suppose his victories were the results 
of his boldness only, with that inexplicable chance, which, to 
man's natural reason, appears good luck, and which a religious 
faith, like that of Jackson, terms Providence. But while the 
perpetual and essential influence of the divine power is asserted, 
which alone sustains the regular connexion of means with ends, 
it will be shown that these conceptions arc erroneous ; that Gen- 
eral Jackson's campaigns were guided by the most profound and 
original applications of military science, as well as sustained by 
the vigor of their execution; and that they are an invaluable 
study for the leader of armies. 

The reader has now reached the commencement of that won- 
drous campaign in the Valley of Virginia, which created his 
fame. Before the narrative is begun, it will not be unprofitable 
to pass in review the general theatre of the war, and the posture 
and advantages of the two parties. This survey, as well as the 
subsequent history, will involve the use of a few technical terms, 
whose definition may be helpful" to the unprofessional reader. 
In accordance with the best usage the word Strategy will be 
employed to denote the art of giving the proper direction to the 
movements of an army upon the theatre of war. A Strategic 
Point is a place, which, from geographical or other reasons, 
secures for its occupant some advantage in strategic movements, 
and thence, some control over a part of the theatre of war. 
Thus, Manassa's Junction was an important strategic point for 
the Confederates in 1861, because the two railroads meeting 
there gave them the decisive advantage in all movements over 



DEFINITIONS, 289 

the territory through which they pass. So, an important for- 
tress, a fOciis where many highways meet, a mountain defile con- 
stituting the main entrance to a region, may be such a point. 
The phrase General Tactics expresses the art of arraying and 
using an army successfully upon a field of battle ; while special 
tactics is the drill which is taught to the single soldier, the com- 
pany, or the battalion, in the several branches of infantry, 
cavalry, or artillery. A Base of Operations is that line, or series 
of neighboring points, in secure possession of an army, whence 
it sets out to assail its enemy, whence it continually draws its 
supplies and reinforcements, and to which it may retreat for 
safety. Its Line of Operations is the zone along which aii army 
advances from its base toward the object of its attack ; and its 
Line of Communications is but the same tract, usually, viewed in 
the inverted direction. It might appear from this definition, 
that an army's line of operations would be projected always at 
right angles to its base, or in a direction approximating this; 
but while this is often true, it is not necessarily so, and instances 
arise in which the most successful lino of operations may be 
oblique, or even almost parallel to the base. Other terms which 
occur will now easily explain themselves to the attentive reader, 
without the formality of definitions. 

The one decisive advantage, to which the North owes all its 
successes over the South, has been, not its larger territories, or 
population, or armies, or geographical position, but its superior- 
ity upon the water. And this is true, as will be made clear, 
notwithstanding that it has been chiefly a war upon land. At 
the division of the Union, the Government of Washington re- 
tained all the Federal Navy. Many of its States were maritime 
and manufacturing communities ] while those of the South were 
chiefly agricultural ; hence the multiplication of ships and sailors, 
from the river transport up to the man-of-war, was far more 
37 



290 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

rapid among tlicm. This inequality was made more ruinous 
to the naval force of the Soutli, by the further fact, tliat the 
initial superiority of the North excluded her rival from all 
foreign sources of supply, for equipping and manning ships. 
The result has been, that the Confederates have had no oppor- 
tunity to cope with their invaders upon the water ; and wherc- 
evcr an entrance was open to Federal ships, either upon sea or 
river, the former have been expelled. 

It has also been the misfortune of the Confederate States, to 
have the hitherto unsettled question, whether shore-batteries can 
prevent the passage of ships of war, decided, in novel instances, 
of the most serious importance to them. "When ships were only 
propelled by the winds, a motive power never so forcible as 
steam, save in tempests, variable, uncertain, liable to desert the 
mariner at the critical moment, and leavmg him no option save 
that of moving in a direction somewhat conformed to its own, or 
else, of casting anchor, artillerists might well boast, that the 
stationary battery would usually destroy the vessel which chal- 
lenged its fire. But our generation has witnessed the introduc- 
tion of steam-ships of war, having a regular and unfailing motive 
power within themselves, propelling them irrespective of winds 
and tides, in any direction desired, and capable of a speed as 
safe and steady, at once, as that of the gentle breeze, and as 
rapid as the hurricane. When to these advantages is added the 
iron plating, which, if not impenetrable, at least delays the ruin 
of the ship's frame-work until after a series of blows, it becomes 
probable, that such a vessel of war might brave the bidlcts of 
shore-batteries, and pass them with impunity without silencuig 
them. But the old authorities of the land service, confident in 
the former precedents, still declared that such batteries must 
ever be a secure protection against the entrance of ships of war 
into rivers and harbors ; and it required the disastrous events of 



CONFEDERATES SURROUNDED BY OCEAN. 291 

Island No. 10, of New Orleans, and at last, of Vicksburg, in 
each of which the batteries were passed, and thus rendered use- 
less, without being silenced, to teach the Confederate Govern- 
ment this new fact in warfare. 

Let it be remembered, then, that the oceans which bound two 
sides of the Confederate States, belong to then* enemy, affording 
them a way of approach, cheap, speedy, and secure from assault. 
This fact renders the whole sea-shore, wherever harbor or inlets 
gave access to Federal ships, a base of operations to their 
armies. It has made it all an exposed frontier, and brought the 
enemy upon it all, as though he had embraced its whole circum- 
ference with coterminous territories of his own. Popular read- 
ers may form to themselves some conception of the disastrous 
influence of this fact, by representing to themselves the inland 
kingdom of Bavaria, assailed at once on four sides, by Austria, 
Switzerland, and the German States, all united under a single 
hostile will. The similitude is unequal only in this, that the 
Confederate States have a larger area than Bavaria. The 
professional reader will comprehend our disadvantage more 
accurately, by considering that our enemies thus had two pairs 
of bases of operations, at right angles to each other ; whence it 
resulted, that from whatever interior base a Confederate army 
might set out, to meet the invading force advancing from one of 
these sides, the Confederate line of operations must needs be 
exposed, at a greater or less distance, to a Federal advance from 
another base, threatening to strike it at right angles. And the 
clieap and rapid transit of large masses by water, from one 
line of operations to another, gave to the exterior lines all the 
advantages for concentration usually possessed by the interior. 

But this was not the worst : the Confederate territories are pen- 
etrated in every part by navigable rivers, either opening into the 
sea, which is the territory of the Federal, or into his own frontiers. 



292 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

From the cast and south, the Potomac, the Rappahannock, the 
James, the Roanoke, the Ncuse, the Cape Fear, the Savannah, 
the Alabama, the Brazos, pierce the country from the sea, -o-hilc 
the Mississippi, itself an inland sea, which floats the greatest 
men of ^rar, passes out of the United States, through the middle 
of the Confederacy, to the Gulf of Mexico. The Tennessee 
and the Cumberland, with their mouths opening upon the Fed- 
eral frontier, and navigable in ■winter for war-ships as well as 
transports, curve inward, deep into the heart of the southeastern 
quarter ; and the Arkansas and Red Rivers open up the States 
west of the Mississippi. Now, the naval supremacy of the 
Federalists having been asserted upon all these streams, it is the 
least part of the evil, that their fertile borders have all been 
exposed to ravage, and the wealthy cities which grace them, 
have been wrested from the Confederates. The margins of all 
these rivers arc thus made capable of becoming new bases of 
•:perations for invading armies, as secure as their own frontiers. 
The difficulties of distance, arising from the great extent of the 
Confederate territories, are reduced, and worst of all, no 
interior base remains to the Confederates, from which strategic 
operations can proceed in any direction, but that line is found 
parallel to some one of these bases of Federal operations ; and 
so, exposed at no gTcat distance, to their advance at right 
angles upon it. Or, if there is an exception, it is only found in 
the regions surrounding the Appalachian Range, in Vii'ginia, the 
Carolinas, and Georgia, equally removed from the navigable 
waters of the Ohio, the Tennessee, and the Atlantic streams. 
And here, accordingly, the Confederates may be expected to 
make their most successful resistance, and the Federalists to fmd 
their accidental advantages lost, and their true obstacles begm- 
ning. 

The true strategic difficulties of the Confederates, have ever 



CONSEQUENCES TO CONFEDERATES. 293 

arisen more from their enemies' command of the water, than 
fi'om their superior numbers. A review of the crowd of disasters 
with which the year 1862 opened; will be the best illustration 
of these reasonings. 

Tlie first of these was the battle of Mill Spring, or of 
Somerset, in the southeastern part of Kentucky ; where the 
Confederates, at first victorious, were struck with discourage- 
ment by the death of their beloved commander Gen. Zolli- 
cofler, and suffered a defeat. This insulated event was without 
consequence, save as it showed improved spirit and drill in 
the Federal soldiery. February 8th, a Federal fleet and army, 
entering Albemarle Sound in North Carolina, overpowered the 
feeble armament on land and water, by which the Confed- 
erates sought to defend Eoanoke Island, the key to all the 
inland waters of the region. The enemy established himself 
the]'e; and this naval success was one of the causes, which 
lec\ to the evacuation of Norfolk at a later day; because 
it gave a base for offensive operations against the rear of its de- 
fences. The Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston, to 
whom the defence of Kentucky and Tennessee was entrusted, 
had stationed his main force at Bowling Green, in Kentucky, a 
position in itself strong and well chosen. But his retention of 
it depended upon his closing the Mississippi, Tennessee, and 
Cumberland Elvers, to the enemy; because the former ran 
parallel with his line of communications, and the two latter 
actually passed behind his rear. He attempted to close the 
Mississippi by batteries at Columbus, the Tennessee by Fort 
Henry, and the Cumberland by Fort Donelson. The first of 
these posts was supposed by friends and enemies, to be of ade- 
quate strength. But the second fell after a feeble defence, Febru- 
ary Gth, and the third after a bloody and heroic resistance, 
February 15th. These events at once compelled the evacuation 



294 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

of Columbus, on the Mississippi, because they gave the Federal- 
ists, on the margin of tlie two rivers noTv opened to them, a base 
of operations parallel to the line of communications which con- 
nected the Confederate army, at Columbus, with their base. 
The next defence was attempted at Island No. 10, between that 
place and the city of Memphis. The Federalists, after an ex- 
pensive and futile bombardment, made an essay to pass the 
batteries with their gunboats, without waiting to silence them ; 
and being partially successful in this, compelled the evacuation 
of the post, which they could not reduce, by threatening the 
communications of the garrison. The necessary corollary was 
the fall of Memphis without a defence. There now remained 
for the Confederates, no practicable line of operations, in all 
"West and Middle Tennessee: for the reason that the three 
streams, diverging from points near Cairo, the great naval depot 
of the Federalists, and open to their fleets, gave them bases of 
operations on all their banks, parallel'- to" any line upon which 
the other party might move. The determination of Generals 
A. S. Jolmston and Beauregard to transfer the campaign to the 
southern bank of the Tennessee, was therefore in strict con- 
formity with military principle ; although it required the loss of 
the Capital of the fine State of Tennessee, and two-thirds of its 
territory. The result of their wise strategy was the victory of 
Shiloh, April Gth : yet even this was almost neutralized by the 
facility of concentration, which the naval resoui'ces of the enemy 
gave them. The selection of Corinth as the strategic point for 
tlie protection of the State of j\Iississippi was also correct : for 
it gave the command of the railroads diverging thence eastward 
and southward. But the advantage of river transportation for 
troops and munitions of war, to the neighborhood, speedily 
enabled the Federalists to assemble so enormous a preponder- 
ance of means in front of General Beauregard's position there, 



LOSS OF NEW ORLEaiNS TO SOUTHWEST. 295 

as to compel Lis retreat to an interior point. Had lie withstood 
this motive for retreat, another, still more controlling, would in 
time, have appeared : the Mississippi Eivcr, now open to the 
enemy to Vicksburg, offered them a base, parallel to General 
Beauregard's Ime of communications from Corinth with his 
rear ; so that it was practicable to assail that line by advancing 
from the water. 

The extravagant joy of the Federalists at the fall of Forts 
Henry and Donelson was generally ridiculed. It was said that 
the capture of two hastily-constructed earthworks, mounting a 
few cannon, was no exploit to justify the boastings of a great 
fleet and .army, employed in their reduction. The results of 
these successes were far greater than, their glory; and they 
spoke far more strongly against the providence of the Confed- 
erate rulers, than for the prowess of the Federal armies. The 
true gravity of the events was not in the fact, that the reduc- 
tion of such works was a difficult or honorable task : but in the 
fact that the Confederates lacked either the wisdom or the 
means to- interpose more stable defences in avenues of such 
vital importance to their campaign. It is now manifest, that 
the possession of the tliree rivers decided that of the theatre 
of war. It is not intended that the mere access to the margins 
of these streams, and the opportunity to use them as bases of 
operations on land, would have been enough, with'out a prepon- 
derance of military means to be employed thence; but that, 
without the advantage of these bases, even the great superiority 
of the Federal numbers would not have availed to give them 
the campaign. 

But the most fatal of all these advantages was the occupation 
of New Orleans. This success also resulted from the discovery, 
whose novelty was so unfortunate for the Confederate cause, 
that war steamers could pass batteries with impunity. After 



296 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

the cliiof of the naval force bad despaired of the reduction of 
the forts which guarded the approaches to tlie city, Commodore 
Farragut, April 2-ltli, essayed; wliat was then esteemed the rash 
experiment of passing them Ly night, with perfect success. 
The rich and unarmed city then lay at his mercy; for the 
Confederates had no fleet adequate to resist his approach, and 
the surrender of the forts was the obvious sequel to the loss 
of that, which they were intended to protect. The Mississippi 
River was now open to the Federal navies tlu'ough all its length, 
except the section embraced between the fortresses of Port 
Hudson and Vicksburg. TIius, their strategic advantages were 
extended indefinitely for operating in all the States on both 
sides of its waters. The greater success of the Federalists in 
their southwestern campaigns is explained by the position of 
these great rivers. When the advantage which they possessed 
in them is considered, the only wonder will be, that they did not 
accomplish more, with their vast military resoui'ces. Their 
failure to conquer the whole is only to be explained by their 
own timidity and feebleness in execution, coupled • with the 
bravery and talent of the Confederates. It is no small glory 
to the latter, to have saved any part of their country from an 
enemy possessed of strategic advantages so deadly. 

The policy which should have been adopted for defence by 
the Confederate Government, is also indicated by these events. 
They should have understood that there were four vital points, 
— the mouth of tlie Mississippi, its course at the western ex- 
tremity of Kentucky, the mouth of the Tennessee, and the 
mouth of the Cumberland, to the defence of which every en- 
ergy should have been bent from the first day of the war. 
The loss of one of these, and especially of one of the last' 
three, rendered nugatory the defence of the others ; because the 
invading army, penetrating along the one stream which it had 



CONFEDERATES N.1EDED SHIPS. 297 

opened, could lja.se itself upon its banks, far in the rear of tlie 
forces defending the other two, and, by threatening their commu- 
nications, compel their retreat. The obstacles placed upon all 
of them should, therefore, have been equally impregnable. It 
had been better to neglect anything else, and to suffer any incur- 
sions by land, than to fail in this. And since the recent intro- 
duction of steam into ships of war, with the earnest warnings of 
enlightened naval men, ought to have aroused at least a mistrust 
of shore-batteries, as a sufficient defence against ships, other and 
more certain means of resistance should have been provided at 
these essential points. To the construction of enough efficient 
war-ships to hold these four avenues, the energies of the Gov- 
ernment and people should have been directed, at the earliest 
hour, with an activity akin to that of desperation. The Con- 
federates then possessed the wealth, the skilled labor, and the 
material supplies, of Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, and 
Norfolk : by neglecting to expend a part -early and wisely, they 
lost the whole of them. 

At the place last named, the Confederates were employed 
during the winter, in one enterprise, which pointed in the right 
direction; the construction of the iron-clad steamer, Virginia. 
This pov'erful and unique ship, armed with the most formidable 
rifled cannon, was prepared for action early in March, and on 
the 8th of that month, attacked the Federal fleet in Hampton 
Roads, destroying three frigates and several gunboats, and 
putting the remainder to flight. 

This brilliant action filled the people v^^ith delight, and the 
noble ship was accepted as a sufficient defence for the mouth of 
James River, against all the men-of-war which the Federalists 
could at that time bring against her. Her prowess showed 
that a few such vessels in the Mississippi might have saved the 



298 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

disasters of the south-vvcst, and the occupation of a third of 
its territory. 

The disparity of the strength of the two parties was pointed 
out at the beginning of the war. Tlie geographical position of 
the Confederate States, it lias been now shown, rendered thcin 
yet weaker for a defensive war; but to this species of resist- 
ance they were shut up. At the beginning of the campaign of 
18G2, they had experienced a farther diminution of strength, 
in the virtual loss of Kentucky and Missouri. A few of the 
chivalrous citizens of these States, accepting banishment rather 
than subjugation, followed the fortunes of the Confederacy; but 
their territories, their revenues, and their wealtli were now in 
the hands of the oppressors. The military events which induced 
this result need not be detailed here ; for they would lead too 
far away from the proper subject — the Virginian campaign. 
After this loss, which occurred before the struggle reached its 
acme, the Confederates States had about eight and a half 
millions of people, including among them nearly all the Africans 
of the South, with whom to resist twenty millions. This state- 
ment declares, more forcibly than any eloquence of words, the 
heroic character of the defence which they have since made. 

Comparisons of present with past events assist us to appre- 
ciate the merit of the latter, by the help of the estimate estab- 
lished for the former in history. Let the defence of the 
Southern Confederacy against the United States, be illustrated, 
for instance, by that of Spain, in the Peninsular War, against 
the designs of Napoleon, which were not unlike the aggressions 
of the Federals in iniquity. Spain then possessed about eleven 
millions of people, an army of one hundred and twenty-seven 
thousand men, and a navy superior to that of the United States, 
at the opening of this war. Her soil was open to the invader 
only at one quarter, for the sea which surrounds her was held 



FEDERAL POSITIONS IN APRIL, 1862. 299 

by tlie fleets of England, in conjunction with her own; and 
these reduced the navy of France to an absolute inactivity. 
Access to her. wealthy colonies was open throughout the strug- 
gle, and no blockade obstructed the entrance of the British 
arms and supplies. On the other hand, the population of the 
French Empire was double that of the Federal States, but the 
armies of the Emperor were not more numerous than those 
employed for our conquest. The vast difference against Napo- 
leon was, that during the whole Spanish struggle, his strength 
was also tasked with gigantic wars elsewhere while the malice 
of the Federal has met no divei'sion from any other nation in 
its concentration upon the work of our destruction, and to his 
armies, equal to all the imperial legions, must be added the 
efforts of a great navy. Yet, with these relative means of 
aggression. Napoleon overran the whole territory of Spain, 
occupied her capital, and compelled her to a war of six years, 
in which she was seconded by the whole military power of 
Great Britain, to shake off his grasp. What, then, must have 
been the energy of the Southern character, as compared with 
the Spanish, or what the impotency of the Federal administra- 
tion as compared with the French, to reduce the consequences 
of their invasion to so partial a limit, at the end of three years 
of lavish expenditure and bloodshed ? 

The opening of the campaign of 1862 found the Federalists 
firmly seated upon the coast of South Carolina at Beaufort, and 
of North Carolina at Fort Macon, Newberne, and Roanoke 
Island. On the eastern borders of Virginia, they occupied 
Fortress Mom^oe, and Newport News, all the lower peninsula 
between the James and York Rivers, and the mouth of the Rap- 
pahannock. Near the ancient towns of Williamsburg and York, 
General Magruder, with a few thousand men, held their superior 
numbers at bay : and his guns maintained a precarious command 



300 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

over the channels of the two rivers. Around Washino-ton, 
STV^rmcd " the Grand Army." of General M'Clellan, upon both 
banks of the Potomac ; while its wings extended from the lower 
regions of the State of Maryland, to the Alleghanics. It was 
confronted by the army of General Joseph E. Johnston, with its 
right wing resting upon the Potomac to Evansport, and com- 
manding the river by a formidable battery, its centre about 
Manassa's Junction, and its left at Winchester under General 
Jackson. This army was composed of volunteers enlisted for 
one year ; and the hour when their term of service expired, was 
now fast approaching. * 

Neither State nor Confederate Government had yet adopted 
any permanent system for raising or recruiting armies. The 
Congress was just moving, under the impulse of threatening dis- 
asters, towards the adoption of a general conscription, which 
placed all the male white population, between the ages of 
eighteen and thirty-five, in the military service. 

But this law, while it promised ultimately to bring a multitude 
of new soldiers into the service, released a number of veterans, 
who v.'cro more than thirty-five years old. It moreover involved 
the reorganization of every regiment, by the election of new 
officers; a work which was in progress thi'oughout the early 
months of the campaign. All the forces of the Confederacy, 
being volunteers, had claimed the republican privilege of elec- 
tion. The fruits of this vicious system of appointment were 
now becoming more painfully manifest ; when to its other relax- 
ations of authority were added the desire on tlie part of the 
officers to propitiate the favor of their soldiers by indulgence, in 
view of the approaching vote, and the disposition of other 
aspirants to oppose their pretensions to a re-election, by every 
species of cabal. The troops were chiefly raised by authority 
of the States : during the remainder of the war, they were to be 



NEW illLITARY LAWS. 301 

governed b}^ that of the Confederacy, That power therefore 
proposed to introduce, along with their conscription, a uniform 
s.ystem for its armies. Tlie 3rd of March, General Jackson, 
through a member of Congress from his Military District, urged 
the adoption of two principles : of which one was, that the 
right of electing should be arrested, save for the lowest rank of 
commissioned officers, third lieutenants: and that above that 
grade, all vacancies should bo filled by promotion. The second 
was, that promotion should not bo obtained by seniority, un- 
less the applicant was approved by a Board of Examiners, 
whoso rejection, when sanctioned by the Commander-in-Chief of 
a Department, should be final. Although the reorganization of 
the Virginia regiments, for the second year, was completed under 
laws of the State, without these wholesome regulations, they 
were soon after embodied in the laws of Congress. Their 
efifect has been steadily to raise the efficiency of the officers, and 
thus, the discipline of the army. But during the first, and the 
greater part of the second campaign, the lack of competent and 
energetic officers for companies and regiments, was the bane of 
the service, and the constant grievance of the commanders. In 
many, there was neither an intelligent comprehension of their 
duties, nor zeal in their performance. 

Appointed by the votes of their neighbors and friends, to lead 
them, they would neither exercise that rigidity in governing, nor 
that detailed care in providing for tlie wants of their men, which 
are necessary to keep soldiers efficient. The duties of the drill 
and the sentry-post were often negligently performed ; and the 
most profuse waste of ammunition, and other military stores, was 
permitted. It was indeed seldom that these officers were guilty 
of cowardice upon the field of battle ; but they were often in 
the wrong place, fighting as common soldiers, when they should 
have been directing others. Above all, was their inefficiency 



302 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

marked by their inability to keep tlicir men in tlie ranks. 
"Absenteeism " grew under tiicm to a monstrous evil; and while 
those who were animated by principle were bravely in their 
places on the day of action, every poltroon and laggard found a 
way to creep from the ranks. Indeed, it was no rare thing to hear 
these leaders reason, that efforts to keep the latter class in their 
places were injudicious ; because they would be of no use, if 
present! Hence the frequent phenomenon, that regiments 
which, on the books of the commissary appeared as consum- 
ers of five hundred or a thousand rations, were reported as 
carrying into action two hundred and fifty, or three hundred 
bayonets. The thinness of these ranks must needs be repaired 
by the greater devotion and gallantry of the true men. They 
were compelled to take their own share of the bullets, and those 
of the cowards in addition : and thus, the blood which was shed 
in battle was almost exclusively that of the noblest and best, 
while the ignoble currents, in the veins of the base, were hus- 
banded. 

At the approach of the spring campaign, other causes, less 
discreditable, concurred to diminish the armies in Virginia. 
Furloughs were liberally given, in order to encourage the men 
to re-enlist with cheerfulness. A majority of the officers were 
at their homes, professedly engaged in collecting absentees, or in 
recruiting new men. The fevers of the previous autumn had 
decimated the most of the regiments. While, therefore, the 
diligence of the Federal Government was swelling the host of 
M-Clellan to two hundred and thirty thousand men, the command 
of General Johnston was absolutely diminished more than one 
half, when the season of activity arrived. It was manifest that 
he would be in no condition to cope with his adversary, in his 
present positions. Uis chief protection against a catastrophe 
had been, for some time, the condition of tlie roads, which 



FEDERAL PLANS OF STRATEGY. 303 

forbade campaigning, A winter and early spring of unpre- 
cedented rains had so softened the argillaceous soil of the Bull 
Run, that the two armies lay immovable, like two hostile ships 
fast grounded in a shoal of mud, a little too remote for combat. 
General M'Clellan was anxiously awaiting the first drying suns 
of March, to move his gigantic army forward to that triumph, 
for which he had been so assiduously preparing them for eight 
months ; and General Johnston was watching for the same junc- 
ture, to retire to a more interior line of defence. 

The goal of the Federal advance was, of course, to be Rich- 
mond j and to its capture, every movement was to converge. 
General M/Clcllan was to drive back the left wing of the Con- 
federate army at Winchester, by the forces under Shields and 
Banks, to insulate and overpower the right wing resting on the 
Potomac at Evansport, and to surround and crush General 
Johnston at Manassas, or else to force him toward Richmond, 
and pursue him. The army on the Peninsula, setting out from 
Portress Monroe, was to press back (jrcneral Magruder, and 
assail the capital from the East. The forces in the Valley, 
having beateu General Jackson, were either to converge towards 
the rear of Manassa's Junction, by crossing the Blue Ridge, or 
else to march southwestward up that District, and at Staunton, 
meet a powerful force from the Northwest, which was preparing 
to advance from Wheeling, under General Fremont. Staunton 
was manifestly one of the most important strategic points in 
Central Virginia. It is situated on the Central Railroad, and at 
the intersection of the great Valley Turnpike (a paved road 
which extends from the Potomac continuously to the extremity of 
Southwestern Virginia). It is also the terminus of the Turnpike 
to Parkersburg, in Northwest Virginia, and ihafoais of a number 
of important highways. Its possession decided that of the whole 
interior of the State, and of another avenue, the Central Rail- 



304: LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL* JACKSON. 

road, leading to Riclimond from its -svestcrn side. As this road, 
on its way to the capital, passes by Gordonsville, the intersection 
of the Orange and Alexandria road, on which General Johnston 
now depended as his sole line of communications, its possession 
I ly the Federalists would at once endanger that line, and compel 
liim to seek a position still more interior. Moreover, Eastern 
Virginia, south of Gordonsville, was the great tobacco-planting 
region, and consequently, yielded no large supplies for the capi- 
tal or armies. The great central counties, to which Staunton 
was the key, were the granary of the Commonwealth. There 
was, then, little hope that the capital, with the large armies 
necessar}'- for its defence, when thus insulated from its sources 
of suppl}', and open only to the south, would endure a very long 
investment. Considering these things, and remembering that if 
Staunton were surrendered, the concentration of General Banks' 
and General Fremont's columns there must inevitably occur, 
thus placing a third army of commanding strength far in the 
rear of General Jolmston's left, and of his temporary base. 
General Jackson declared that the defence of the Valley was 
essential to the defence of Virginia. Geographically, it is the 
heart of the State. Its vast resources were essential to our 
strength; and if seized by the enemy, would enable them to 
deal deadly blows. K they seated themselves in force there, 
they could not be dislodged, save at great cost; because no 
favorable base and line of operations against them, would 
remain to the Confederates. 

The retreat of General Johnston from Manassa's Junction 
implied that of General Jackson from Winchester, for reasons 
already explained (in Chap. VII.) ; and for the latter, no practi- 
cable line of operations would remain north of Front Royal and 
Strasboiu'g. These two villages, both on the line of the Manas- 
sa's Gap Railroad, marked tlic opening of the twin valleys into 



JACKSON DETEKMINES TO RETREAT TOWARDS STAUNTOX. 305 

wMcIi the Masanuttin ]!iIountains divide tlie Great Valley for 
£% miles. The strategic question for General Jackson was, 
whether he should move to Front Royal, at the mouth of the 
Eastern Valley, or to Strasbourg, at the beginning of the West- 
ern, and on the great road leading to Staunton. At the begin- 
ning of March, this question was receiving careful discussion by 
letters between his Commander-in-Chief and him. The former 
advised that he should retire to Front Royal, and thence, up the 
south branch of the Shenandoah, because it was in the direction 
of his owii intended retreat, and therefore upon convergent 
lines ; because thus, the retreating wings would be prepared for 
a more rapid concentration than those of the invading army, and 
. for a vigorous blow at each of them in turn : and because it was 
contrary to all sound discretion to allow the enemy to attain a 
point between the Manassa's Army and the Army of the Valley, 
from which he might act against them on interior lines.' Gen- 
eral Johnston accordingly enjoined on General Jackson, not to 
permit the Federalists to insinuate themselves between Win- 
chester an-d the Blue Ridge. Ilad there been no armies on the 
theatre of war, save those of jM'Clellan and Johnston, Banks 
and Jackson, these views would have been correct. But Gen- 
eral Jackson declared his preference for a retreat up the mam 
Valley, in the direction of Staunton. That place, he argued, 
would be the object of Banks's endeavors, rather than a junction 
with M'Clellan in front of General Johnston; because, by ap- 
proaching Staunton, he threatened General Edward Johnson's 
rear, and compelled his retreat without a blow ; he thus opened 
the way for General Fremont's unobstructed advance, and 
effected a junction with him; and he placed himself, in re- 
doubled force, so far in the rear of General Johnston's left, 
and so near his line of communications, as to necessitate his 
retiring without battle, and yieldmg to M'Clellan the vast and 

39 



306 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

precious circuit of country wliicli has been described. For tlii-S 
reason, he said the main Yallcy must not be left open to Gen- 
eral Banks. But unless the Confederates from Winchester 
moved so decisively towards the Blue Ridge, as to leave the 
road to Staunton undefended against him, they could not effect 
General Johnston's purpose, of converging on lines shorter and 
more concentric than those of the enemy's advance. Indeed, 
since a short march from Charlestown, by the way of Benyville 
and Milwood, would place General Banks at tlie fords of the 
Shenandoah, and on the main roads from Winchester to Manas- 
sa's, if that purpose were to be the dominant one, the Confed- 
erate army ought to move that very day, not towards Front 
Royal, but directly towards Manassa's. If such an oljject were 
in view as dictated the masterly strategy of July, 18G1 [to 
make an immediate concentration, and light a successful battle 
for the retention of Manassa's Junction], then this would be 
the proper movement; but in no other case. On the other 
hand, he declared that he did not believe General Banks 
could cross the Blue Ridge, to bear upon General Johnston, 
while he remained in the Valley near him, acting upon the line 
of communications with Staunton, and continually threatening 
his right. General Jackson therefore desired to be permitted to 
retire to Strasbourg ; but he closed his manly argument with the 
assurance, that he should proipptly and cheerfully obey the 
wishes of his Commander-in-Chief, whatever they might be. 
General Johnston conceded to him the exercise of his own dis- 
cretion; and he made preparations to retreat, when it became 
necessary, up the Valley, by sending his stores and sick to 
Mount Jackson, forty-live miles above Winchester. It will ap- 
pear how far events conlirmed his speculations. 

To a friend in the Confederate Congress, General Jackson 
thus disclosed his own wishes. Speaking of the Valley of Vir- 



CORRESPONDENCE. 307 

ginia, he says : — " What I desire is, to hold the country as far 
as practicable, until we are in a condition to advance ; and then, 
mth God's blessing, let us make thorough work of it. But let 
us start right. . . . 

"Li regard to your question as to how many troops I need, 
you will probably be able to form some idea, when I tell you 
that Banks, who commands about 35,000 has his head-quarters 
in Charlestown, and that Kelly, who has succeeded Lander, has 
probably 11,000, with his head-quarters near Paw Paw. Thus 
you see two Generals, whose united force is near 46,000, of 
troops already organized for three years or the war, opposed to 
our little force here ; but I do not feel discouraged. Let me 
have what force you can. M'Clellan, as I learn, was at 
Charlestown on Friday last : there may be something significant 
in this. You observe then, the impossibility of saying how 
many troops I will require, since it is impossible for me to Imow 
how many will invade us. I am delighted to hear you say 
Virginia is resolved to consecrate all her resources, if necessary, 
to the defence of herself. Now we may look for war in earnest." 

"You ask me for a letter respecting the Valley. I am well 
satisfied that you can say much more about it than I can, and in 
much more forcible terms. I have only to say this ; that if this 
Valley is lost, Virginia is lost. 

" Very truly, your friend, 

"T.J.JACKSON." 



308 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 



CHAPTER X. 

KERNSTO'\^^^. 

By tlie llth of March, 18G2, General Jackson had removed 
all his sick and supplies to Mount Jackson, and had gathered in 
all his troops from the outposts to AVinchester. lie now had 
oaly the First, Second, and Third Virginia Brigades, tlie last 
containing two small regiments, Colonel Ashby's regiment of 
liorse, and six batteries of field artillery. On that day. General 
Banks approached within four miles of Winchester, on the 
north, and General Jackson went out and offered him battle. 
This challenge Banks declined, although his force present on the 
field was fourfold, and preferred to await the arrival of General 
Shields with his reserves. The Confederates, therefore, returned 
in the evening to their camp around the town, and General 
Jackson assembled the commander and colonels of the Stonewall 
Brigade, as a council of war, to lay before them a daring project 
which he had conceived. While he was awaiting them, he went 
to take his supper with the hospitable family whose board he 
frequented, and appeared in their parlor with his military cloak, 
spurs, sword, and haversack. His spirits were unusually briglit 
and genial, and his countenance glowed with animation. His 
friends, on the contrary, were oppressed with gloom ; for they 
could not but sec that tlie movement of stores to the rear, 
which had been «o complete, portended the evacuation of Win- 
chester, and their surrender to the hated oppressions of the 



JACKSON PLANS NIGHT ATTACK. 309 

enemy. To tlie inquiries of the ladies, he replied by a polite 
evasion, while he evidently sought to relieve their apprehensions. 
According to the usage of the family, the domestic devotions 
were to folio vr the meal; but the master, presuming that Gen- 
eral Jackson must be too busy on this occasion to be delayed 
by them, paused to give him an opportunity to retire. He, 
however, requested the privilege of joining in them. At their 
close, he arose, asked that a lunch be placed in his haversack, 
and went away with a cheerful good evening, — merely saying 
that he hoped to dine with them on the morrow as usual. His 
friends,. re-assured by his air, and by their implicit confidence in 
his prowess, went out to make a call. In an hour, the General 
returned, with a rapid stride, and gave the door-bell an ener- 
getic ring. Upon learning that the family were out, he left with 
the servants a request that their master should repair to his 
head-quarters immediately after his return -, and they said that 
he looked anxious and hurried. His friend hastened down to 
his office, and found him prepared for mounting, striding across 
tlie room with rapid steps, and depressed with an inexpressible 
weight of sadness. General Jackson then explained that it was 
his plan to march the army back by night, after allowing them 
time to refresh themselves, to General Banks's front, and, having 
made his dispositions in profound silence, to begin a fierce 
attack upon him at the " small hours " of the morning. General 
Shields had not yet come within a supporting distance ; but by 
the next day he would be united with his commanding general, 
and the odds would then be so enormous that it would be 
madness to resist them. General Banks had an army of new 
and unsteady troops, half intimidated by the fame and valor 
of the Confederates, while the latter were animated by a tower- 
ing enthusiasm and confidence. He believed that the darkness, 
the suddenness and fury of his attack, the lack of experience in 



310 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

evolutions among the Federalists, would throw them into confu- 
sion ; and, by the vigorous use of the bayonet, and the blessing 
of the Providence in which he trusted, he should inflict upon 
them a great overthrow. He was exceedingly loath to leave 
•the gallant, loyal, and generous town, with all the fine country 
around it, to their ruthless sway, without a struggle. But 
when he consulted his officers, he found them too reluctant, to 
permit him to hope for a successful execution of his plan. 
They argued that the troops had already marched ten miles to 
and fro that da}^, and the night attack would require a farther 
journey of six miles, after which they would reach the scene of 
action too much wearied to effect anything ; and that there was 
at least a probability of an advance of the enemy from Berry- 
ville ; which would place them, at the critical moment, upon the 
right and rear of the Confederates. 

As he detailed these facts. General Jackson paced his floor in 
painful indecision, and repeated an expression of his bitter re- 
luctance to leave Winchester without one brave sti^oke for its 
defence. Then passing full before the candles, he lifted up his 
face with a look of lofty determination, and his hand convulsively 
grasped the hilt of his sword, while he slowly hissed through his 
clenched teeth words to this effect: "But — Let me think — may 
I not execute my purpose still ? " As he uttered this, his eye 
burned with a fire before which liis friend, who had never seen 
the light of battle in his face, confessed he could not but tremble. 
Then releasing his sword, he dropped his head, and said, " No ; 
I. must not do it : it may cost the lives of too many brave men. 
I must retreat, and wait for a better time." The air of grief, 
again possessed him, and he proposed to retm'n to his friend's 
dwelling, to take leave of his family. lie bade them a sad fare- 
well, but said he hoped a good Providence would enable him 
soon to return, and bring them deliverance. The next morning, 



MOVEMEXTS OF m'CLELLAN AXD JOHNSTOX. 311 

at dawn of day, the Confederate army left Winchester for Stras- 
bourg, and at 9 o'clock, A. M., the column of General Banks 
began cautiously to enter it. As they approached, Colonel Ash- 
by slowly withdrew his troopers into the streets, and then 
tin'ough the town, while he remained the last man, and sat 
quietly upon his horse, until the enemy had approached within a 
siiort distance ; when he gave his defiant shout, and galloped 
away. The Federalists found not a single prisoner, horse, 
musket, or wagon, to enrich their conquest. The citizens of 
Winchester, who saw their nervous timidity at the thought of 
Stonewall Jackson's proximity, and their ignorance, of his real 
numbers, were convinced that, had the night attack been made, 
they would have been utterly routed. General Shields's troops 
were so far in the rear, that they did not begin to arrive until 
2 o'clock, P. M., and it is therefore manifest that the affair would 
have been decided, before they reached the scene of action. But 
the panic among their friends would not have been slow to 
propagate itself among them. 

General Jackson wished, after once surrendering the lower 
Valley, to draw the enemy farther into the country, and thus 
both to relieve General Johnston of their pressure, and to dimin- 
ish the numbers with whom he would bo required to deal in 
his front. After marching to Strasbourg, twenty miles above 
Winchester, the 12 th of March, he retreated slowly to the neigh- 
borhood of Mt. Jackson, reaching it the 1 7th. There he received 
a despatch from General Johnston, dated March 19th, stating that 
it was most desirable the enemy's force in the Valley should be 
detained there, and prevented from reinforcing General M-'Clcl- 
lan. To effect this, he requested General Jackson to return 
nearer the enemy, and remain in as threatening attitude as was 
practicable without compromising the safety of his army. The 
Commander-in-Chief was completing that hazardous retreat 



312 LIFE OF LIKUT.-GEN'ERAL JACKSON. 

fi-om ^lanassa's Junction to the south side of the Rappahannock, 
begun IMarcli 10th, by wliich he so skilfully delivered his army, 
and its wliolo materiel, from the jaws of his powerful enemy. 
M'Clellan was also endeavoring to envelop him with his multi- 
tudinous hordes, and, to this end, was just drawing a number of 
I'egiments from the army of Banks, to aid in turning General 
Johnston's left. They had already begun their march, and were 
preparing to cross the Blue Ridge at Snicker's Gap, while their 
General, regarding Jackson as a fugitive whom it was vain to 
pursue, had returned to Washington ' to boast of his bloodless 
conquest, leaving the remainder of his army in charge of Gen- 
eral Shields. TJ^wn receiving the orders of his Commander-in- 
Chief, the Confederate General prepared for a rapid retiu'n 
towards Winchester. Leaving the neighborhood of Mount 
Jackson, Marcli 22d, he marched that day to Strasbourg, twenty- 
six miles; while Colonel Ashby, with his cavalry and a light 
battery of three guns, advanced before him, and drove the 
enemy's outposts into Winchester. The rapidity of this move- 
ment took them b}'- surprise. The troops which remained with 
General Shields were encamped below the town, and Ashby 
found only a feeble force in his front. With these he skir- 
mished actively and successfully ; and, in the combat, an explod- 
ing shell from one of his guns broke the arm of the Federal 
Commander. So audacious was Ashby's pursuit, that his scouts 
privately penetrated the town of Winchester, and communicated 
with the citizens. The latter, knowing that many regiments had 
been sent towards Manassa's, by Snicker's Gap, and seeing very 
few remaining near the town, assisted to confirm him in tlxp 
impression of the paucity of the enemy's numbers. He accord- 
ingly sent back to General Jackson the assurance tliat there 
were but four regiments of infantry occupying Winchester, and 
that they were preparing to return to Harper's -Ferry : which 



JACKSOX ADVANCES TO KERNSTOWX. 313 

encouraged liim, in turn, to push forward liis wliole force on the 
morning- of tlic 23d. But the alarmed enemy had advanced all 
the forces encamped below the town, and had sent couriers to 
recall all those which were on their march towards Manassa's. 
"When the General, therefore, reached Barton's Mills, five miles 
from the town, at noon of that day, he found Ashby pressed 
back to the highlands south of Kernstown, and confronted by 
considerable masses of the enemy. 

It was the Sabbath day ; and if there was one principle of 
General Jackson's religion, which was more stringent than the 
others, it was his reverence for its sanctity. He had yielded to 
the demands of military necessity, so far as to march on the 
sacred morning, that he might not lose the advantages which 
opportunity seemed to place within his reach ; but now a more 
inexorable necessity was upon him. It was manifest that Colonel 
Ashby had been deceived in his estimate of the force opposed to 
him ; and Jackson had reason to anticipate that General John- 
ston's desire to have the powerful army of Banks recalled, was 
fulfilled too efficaciously for his own safety. The region about 
him,, and in his rear, was a beautiful champaign, swelling with 
gentle hills: and on that side of Cedar Creek, twelve miles 
behind him, there was no defensible position against superior 
masses. The whole country was practicable for the manoeuvres 
of cavalry and artillery. To delay, therefore, was to incur tlie 
hazard of being enclosed in the overwhelming numbers of the 
enemy : already it was doubtful whether a prompt retreat would 
be safely concluded. General Jackson's resolution was there- 
fore immediately taken, to assail the enemy on the spot, and win, 
if not a decisive victory, at least the privilege of an unmolested 
retreat, before the preponderance against him became more 
alarming than it already was. In the force with which he pro- 
posed to attack them, more than half the commissioned oQlcers 

40 



314 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSOX. 

were absent, cither on furloughs or recruitmg service ; for a few 
daj's before, it was supposed that the cessation of the enemy's 
pursuit would allow a period of quiet, to be devoted to the 
needed work of reorganization. Many of tlie men were also at 
their homes ; so that after deducting the stragglers lurking with 
the baggage train, the foot-sore, whom the rapid march had left 
behmd, and a regiment detained to guard the equipage, there 
were but two thousand seven hundred of thQ little army left, to 
meet the enemy. 

r The great road crossing the Opequon Creek, a quiet mill 
stream, five miles from Winchester, proceeds thither over a series 
of long and gentle slopes, through a country smiling with fer- 
tility, and almost denuded of its forests. Two miles from the 
Opequon, after surmour;ting a moderate ridge, it reaches Kerns- 
town, a hamlet of a dozen houses, seated in the midst of meadows, 
three miles from Winchester. All the vicinity was divided into 
farms, by stone fences, which also lined the highway continuously. 
Here, there was nothing in the nature of the ground to offer 
advantage to the smaller force. A mile to the left, or west of 
the Turnpike, is a country road, which also crosses the Opequon, 
and passing through gently undulating farms, converges towards 
Winchester, in such a direction as to meet the main thoroughfare 
at the nearer side of the town. And west of this country road, 
there is an elevated ridge parallel to it, terminated at its rear, 
or southwestern end, by the Opequon, whicli curves around it. 
This range of hills, after running forward for two miles towards 
the town, sinks into the plain. Although elevated enough to 
command the whole neighborhood, it is not craggy, but so 
rounded, as to permit the ascent of artillery j and it is clothed 
with forests, with a few small fields interspersed, and notched 
by successive depressions, which descend into ravines between 
the lateral spurs of the hill. West of this ridge is another vale, 



BATTLE OF KERNSTOWN. 315 

filled with meadows and farm-liouses, among wliicli the ascend- 
ing course of the stream threads its way parallel to the main 
crest. The larger part of the fields here, likewise, were 
enclosed by fences of limestone, which, rising to the height of 
four feet, offered a very adequate breastwork against the fire of 
musketry.' A mile west of the region last described, still 
another road passes in the direction of Winchester, called the 
Cedar Creek Turnpike. This route manifestly gave the enemy 
access to the left and rear of the Confederates. 

General Jackson's plan was to contest the wooded ridge with 
the enemy ; for upon it rested their right flank, and its heights 
gave their ai'tillery commanding positions whence they could 
sweep all the champaign between it and the great road. With 
their wings thus supported, the one by the hills, and the other 
upon Kernstown, and their centre strengthened with fourfold 
numbers of infantry and artillery, an attack in front gave no 
promise of success. The only hopeful project for the inferior 
force taking the aggressive, was, to amuse the enemy's centre 
and left, while the main body availed itself of the covert and 
strength of the same heights, wliich were occupied at their 
northern end by them, and to direct the whole weight of the 
assault against their right. . The obvious mode for effecting this 
would have appeared to be to ascend the ridge at its southwest- 
ern end, and thus proceed along its crest ; but such a movement 
was forbidden by an extensive pond, formed on the Opequon for 
feeding a mill, whose waters embraced that extremity of the 
hill. General Jackson was compelled, therefore, to march his 
infantry and artillery obliquely from the great road to the hills, 
under a hot cannonade from the enemy, without the ability to 
return his fire at that time. But the movement was effected 
without loss, and without confusion. About 4 o'clock in the 
afternoon, the following dispositions were completed. On his 



31 G LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

extreme riglit, which rested upon the turnpike in front of Kerns- 
tovni, he posted Colonel Ashby, with his battery of three guns, 
all his cavalr}', except four companies detached for the left, and 
four companies of infantry from the Stonewall Brigade. These 
were ordered to occupy the attention of the enemy's left by a 
constant cannonade, and to press them as opportunity miglit 
permit. Next to the turnpike was placed the 5 th Virginia 
regiment, to hold a mile of space, and to watch the enemy's 
centre. Effective resistance from so small a force was, of 
course, not to be expected ; but General Jackson relied upon 
his artillery, commanding the country along which they must 
advance if they assumed the aggressive from the centre, and yet 
more upon the engrossing occupation which he expected to give 
them upon their right wing, to hold that part of their army in 
check. Nor was he disappointed of this hope. His main line 
of battle was finally formed, with no small interval between it 
and the regiment last named, obliquely across the wooded ridge, 
with his left advanced. Next the right were the 42d and 21st 
regiments of Virginia Volunteers, and the 1st battalion of 
Virginia Eegulars, composing the 2d brigade, under the com- 
mand of Colonel Burks. Next to these on the left, was the 
Stonewall Brigade, with the 2d regiment on its right, and then 
the 33d, the 27th, and the 4th. The left of the infantry line 
was composed of the two regiments of the 3d brigade, the 37th 
and 23d, under the command of Colonel Fulkerson. These 
occupied the farther, or western, side of the ridge. Beyond the 
meadows which lay at its base, four companies of cavalry were 
stationed on a hill which overlooks the country to the Cedar 
Creek turnpike, to check the insults of the enemy's horse. The 
batteries were posted in the centre in front of the Stonewall 
Brigade ; for their line passed across the higher grounds, most 
suitable for the position of artillery. 



BATTLE OF KERNSTOWN. 317 

Thus disposed, the little army advanced agamst the enemy, 
with its left continually thrown forward, through the alternate 
woods and fields which covered the sides and crest of the high- 
lands. After a spirited cannonade, by which several batteries 
of the enemy were silenced, the infantry engaged with inex- 
pressible fury, at close quarters^ the 27th regiment leading oS. 
In some places, the lines were advanced within twenty paces, 
partially shielded from each other by the abrupt little ravines, 
where the Confederates, lying upon their breasts behind the 
protuberances of the ground, or retiring a few steps into the 
hollow places to reload, held their enemies at bay by their 
scathing discharges. As regiment after regiment came into 
position, their heroic General led them into the hottest of the 
fire; and wherever the line wavered under overwhelming num- 
bers, he was present, to cheer the fainting men, and bring up 
the reinforcements. But he had no reserves, save the 5th Vir- 
ginia, which was speedily released from its first position by the 
inactivity of the enemy in that quarter, and the 4Sth, left as a 
baggage guard. Only the former of these came up in time to 
share in the action, and was introduced to reinforce the 2d 
brigade between the 42d and 21st, where it bore its full share 
of the glories and dangers of the combat. On the Federal 
side, the superior numbers enabled them perpetually to bring up 
fresh troops. As one regiment recoiled, reeling and panic- 
struck, it was replaced again and again by another ; and the 
officers, secure of victory from their preponderating force, were 
seen riding madly behind the wavering lines, goading their men 
to the Avork with the sabre. The Confederates, on the other 
hand, having no succors^ fought until they exhausted their am- 
munition. As the men fired their last cartridge, their officers 
allowed them to go to the rear ; and after a time, the thinned 
lines presented no adequate resistance to the fresh crowds of 



318 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

enemies. Near iiiglitfall, General Richard B. Garnett, com- 
manding- the Stonewall Brigade, in the centre, seeing his fire 
dying away for lack of ammunition, and his line pierced on his 
right, assumed the resi^onsibility of authorizing a retreat of his 
command, without orders from 'General Jackson ; and nothing 
now remained, but to protect the movement from more serious 
disaster. 

Where every regiment fought wath steady heroism, and none 
retired until they had fired the last round from their cartridge- 
boxes, detailed exploits can scarcely be singled out, without 
injustice to the men passed over in silence.' But a few particu- 
lars, in which the actors possessed, not more courage, but more 
opportunity, should be described, as having a decisive influence 
on the battle. On the right. Colonel Ashby cannonaded the 
enemy continually with his three guns, with such audacity, as to 
win ground all the day from their multitudes. They advanced 
their infantry through a tract of woodland, to seize his pieces ; 
when his four infantry companies, thrown forward as skirmish- 
ers, scoured the forest with enthusiastic courage, and repulsed 
the attacking party, until the artillery was again posted in a 
more secure position. Later in the day, this daring leader 
executed a cavalry charge against the extreme left of the Fed- 
eralists, drovQ their first line back upon their reserves, and 
captured a few prisoners. In that quarter, they advanced no 
more during the day. Upon the left, where the advance was 
first confided to the 27th and 21st regiments, supported by 
Colonel Fulkerson, and Carpenter's and McLauchlin's batteries, 
the guns were advanced with great spirit under tlie eye of 
General Jackson, delivering an effective fire towards the right 
and front. The infantry engagement was opened by the 27th, 
seconded by the 21st; and these two regiments sustained the 
whole brunt of the fire with unsurpassed heroism, until Colonel 



BATTLE OF KERNSTOWN. 319 

Fulkerson passed to their left, and the remainder of the Stone- 
wall Brigade came up. Twice they routed their assailants in 
quick succession, and held the Federalist army in check while 
the line of battle was completed. In the ceiitve, the 5th and 
42nd regiments, with the batteries of McLauchlin and Carpen- 
ter, were the last upon the field. While tlie enemy pressed up 
to close quarters, and shot down the horses and gunners at the 
pieces, the latter replied with murderous discharges of canister 
shot, at the distance of a hundred paces. This determined 
resistance saved the batteries, with the exception of two guns, 
of which one was disabled, and the other entangled in a fence, 
and of four caissons, whose horses were slaughtered. On the 
left, Colonel Fulkerson, upon becoming warmly engaged, per- 
ceived between him and the enemy, a long stone fence, to which 
each party was advancing, intending to employ it as a breast- 
work against the other. The boldness of the Confederates 
secured them that advantage. Reaching the covert a moment 
in advance of the enemy, they fell upon their knees, and deliv- 
ered a volley so withering, that the whole line before them 
seemed to sink into the earth. The larger part of the Federal- 
ists were indeed killed or wounded by that unerring fire ; and 
the remainder, to escape instant death, prostrated themselves, 
and attempted to crawl to the rear. But in this endeavor, 
nearly all perished ; the mountain riflemen picked them, off with 
deadly aim, before they reached the shelter of the wood. The 
regiment thus annihilated was said to be the 5th Ohio. A New 
York regiment, coming to their aid, escaped with a fate little 
less terrible ; for when they sheltered themselves behind another 
stone fence running to that occupied by Colonel Fulkerson at 
right angles, and endeavored to fusillade the Confederates from 
its shelter, that skilful commander moved a part of his line 
down, along his own defence, to a point below the juncture of 



320 LIFE OF LTEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

tlie two walls, whence he delivered an enfilading fire upon the 
exposed rear of the astonished Federalists. But finding the 
centre of the Confederate line broken, at nightfall he retired in 
good order, bringing oil his two little regiments in safety. The 
four companies of cavalry upon the extreme left had been 
instructed by General -Jackson to hold themselves prepared to 
charge the enemy should he retreat, or to protect the Confeder- 
ate infantry, should it be forced to that alternative. They now 
rendered good service, by holding in check, and ultimately 
putting to flight, the Federal cavalry, which had made a circuit 
by the Cedar Creek turnpike, and sought to interrupt the retreat 
of their friends. But on the eastern side of the Opequon, a 
number of the fugitives found themselves enclosed, at dark, 
between the mill-pond and the enemy, and were thus captured. 
The infantry retreated a few miles to the neighborhood of New- 
town, while the cavalry of Colonel Ashby took its station at 
Barton's Mills, a mile in the rear of the field of combat, and 
held the enemy in check until 10 o'clock of the next morning. 
General Jackson himself, begging a morsel of food at the 
bivouac fire of the soldiers, lay down in the field, to snatch a 
few hours' repose, a little in the rear of his outposts. 

Such was the battle of Kerustown, — in which twenty-seven 
hundred Confederates, with eighteen guns, attacked eleven thou- 
sand Federalists, and almost wrested the victory from their 
hands. For General Jackson estimated their force actually 
engaged 'at that number, besides heavy reserves upon their left 
which were not brought into action. The next morning, while 
remarking upon the struggle, ho said: "Had I been able to 
bring up two thousand more men, I should have beaten them." 
The olficef to whom he spoke replied by referring to the dense 
masses of unbroken infantry hanging behmd Kernstown, and 
expressed the opinion that any success won by so small a force 



FURY OF BATTLE. 321 

must have been unavailing, because these reserves, by threaten- 
ing his right, would have compelled him to arrest his career. 
Jackson answered : " No ; if I had put the men engaged to flight, 
they would all have gone together." The troops marshalled 
against him were unquestionably the best in the Federal army, 
composed chiefly of hardy Western men, habituated from child- 
hood to field sports and the use of fire-arms ; and while those 
who have a visible odds of four to one upon their side deserve 
but little credit for their boldness, and would have no excuse for 
their panic, the perseverance with which the Federal regiments 
brought their weight of numbers to bear against the Confeder- 
ates; notv/ithstanding bloody losses, is some testimony to their 
manhood. General Jackson's loss was eighty killed outright, 
three hundred and seventy-seven wounded, and two hundred and 
sixty captured, — making a total of seven hundred and seven- 
teen, or more than one fourth of the whole force engaged. The 
loss of the enemy was never divulged ; but there are reasons for 
believing that it was nearly quadruple that of the patriots. Their 
officers reported their killed as four hundred and eighteen. The 
loyal citizens of Winchester were permitted to perform the last 
offices to the Confederate dead upon the field of battle ; and, as 
they collected the glorious remains, they had an opportimity to 
observe that the slain invaders lay four times as thick. Hundreds 
of corpses were sent by railroad to their northern friends for 
interment, and many more must have remained, unhonored and 
forgotten, to find their common tomb in the pits of the battle- 
field. The generous women of Winchester demanded and 
obtained leave to carry their ministrations of love to the Confed- 
erate wounded iii the hospitals of the enemy, — for many of the 
captives were also wounded, — and thus they were enabled to 
estimate the numbers of disabled njen belonging to the other 
party. The unfortunate 5th Ohio, in particular, filled hundreds 

41 



322 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

of cots 'with its wounded. From tlie testimony of these witnesses, 
it is believed that as mahj men were disabled by Jackson in the 
enemy's ranks as lie had soldiers in his own. Their greater 
loss is to be accounted for by his skill in handling his forces, by 
the superior accuracy of the Virginians' aim, by their discipline 
and deliberate courage, and by the density of the enemy's . 
ranks, which hardly permitted a well-directed shot to miss its 
object. 

This was tlie iii'st pitched battle in which General Jackson 
had supreme command, and it was fought exclusively by Vir- 
ginians, except that a few Marylanders participated in its 
dangers. Its effect was to raise the estimate of the prowess 
both of soldiers and leader to an exalted height ; and from this 
day, the great qualities of the Virginian soldiery, depreciated 
at first by their own Southern brethren, but illustrated and 
redeemed at Manassa's, have shone forth unquestioned by all. 
Kernstown has remained, among the many moro bloody days, 
when greater hosts pursued the work of slaughter in this san- 
guinary war, a name expressive of the sternest fighting, to the 
Confederates, to spectators, and to the Federalists. The 
soldiers of the old Jackson division, when describing the hor- 
rors of some subsequent struggle, are wont to say that it almost 
reminded them of Kernstown. The peaceful citizens of Win- 
cluster, who have met the strange fate of having their ears grow 
more familiar with the sounds of battle than those of many a 
veteran, still declare that none of the tempests of war which 
have howled around their devoted town raged like that of 
Kernstown, with cannonade so fast and furious, and such rever- 
berating roars of musketry. The Federal soldiery, after 
timidly pursuing the Confederates the next day for a few miles, 
returned to their quarters, with no triumph upon their tongues, 
or in their countenances. Their commander, with the usual 



CARE OF THE WOUNDED. 323 

gasconade of the Federal Generals, claimed a brilliant victory j 
but his boasts awoke no answering enthusiasm among his fol- 
lowers. The deadly energy of Jackson's blows filled them 
with gloom and dread, as they asked themselves, what was the 
task which they had undertaken, in seeking to conquer this 
people in their consolidated strength, whose resistance, in their 
weakness and disorganization, was so terrible. To this sombre 
impression, the spirit of the captives and the oppressed people 
contributed no little. The former, as they passed through the 
streets to their prisons, were joyous and dcfiantj the sympathies 
of the patriotic multitude converted their progress rather into 
an ovation than a defeat, and they rent the air with shouts 
for their country and General, which their gloomy captors, 
durst not suppress. The very scenes upon the field of blood, 
harrowing as they were, intimidated the Federal spectators. 
The regiments which sufi"ered most in Jackson's command, were 
raised in the lower Valley, and in the town itself. As soon as 
the permission was given to the Mayor and citizens, to bury the 
dead of their defenders, they flocked thither upon this errand 
of grief and mercy. The cultivated and accomplished female, 
the minister of religion, the tottering grandfather, were seen 
togetlier, in all the ahandon of their anguish, running to and fro, 
pouring water into the parched lips of the wounded, composing 
the convulsed limbs of the slain into decency, and looking 
eagerly into every begrimed and haggard face of dead or dying, 
to recognize a son, a husband, or a brother. Yet, amidst all 
these horrors, the very women were as determined as the brave 
men whose fate they bewailed, and arose from beside the 
corpses whose discovery had just informed them of their be- 
reavement, to declare to their invaders that none of these 
miseries, nor death itself, should bend their souls to submission. 
Yet these same women, with a generosity equal to their heroism, 



32i: LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

divided their cares and gifts between wounded friends and foes 
in the hospitals where they languished together. 

General Jackson had directed his wounded to bo gathered at 
tlie village of Middletown, eight miles above the. field of battle. 
Inteuding to retreat to a strong position above Cedar Creek, 
uiid there stand on the defensive, he had instructed his Medical 
Director to collect every vehicle which was available, and send 
Uie suflfercrs to the rear, before the army retired. The morning 
was approaching, and that ofiicer, after working all the night 
at the humane task, and employing every carriage which he 
could procure, found a large number of wounded awaiting 
removal still. On meeting the General, he informed him of 
this, and added that he knew not where the transportation was 
to be obtained, and that unless some expedient were discovered 
these brave men must be left to the enemy. General Jackson 
ordered him to have the necessary vehicles impressed from the 
people of the vicinage. "But," said the surgeon, "that requires 
time ; can you stay to protect us ? " " Make yourself easy," 
said Jackson, " about that. This army stays liere till the last 
vrounded man is removed." And then, with a glow of passion 
suffusing his face, he cried j " Before I will leave them to the 
enemy, I will lose many men more." It was such traits as 
these, which made him the idol of his soldiery. It is related 
of the great Bruce, that, while retreating before his enemies, in 
his expedition to Ireland, the distress of a poor laundress, who 
was too helpless to follow the army, and was therefore about, to 
be abandoned to the savage pursuers, touched his heart. He 
halted the host, and said ; " Gentlemen, is there one of us who 
was born of a woman, so base as to leave this poor soul to her 
fate? No: let us rather die with her." And he then drew up 
his men in line of battle, to await the enemy ; but they, suppos- 
ing he had received reinforcements, or was more powerful than 



EESULTS OF BATTLE. 325 

his former retreat indicated, recoiled, and feared to assault him. 
In like manner, the bold front which Jackson assumed, held the 
enemy at a respectful distance. They did not venture to annoy 
him, save by a few cannon-shot ; and, after the first day, discon- 
tinued their pursuit. He retired to the neighborhood of Wood- 
stock ; and thus, in three days, his army marched seventy-five 
miles, and fought a hardly contested pitched battle. 

The battle of Kernstown, was technically, a victory of the 
Federalists. They held the field, the dead, and the wounded. 
But, like those of Pyrrhus at Heraclea, and of Cornwallis at 
Guilford,. it was a victory with the results of a defeat. The 
conquerors, crippled by their losses, and terrified by the resist- 
ance which they met, dared not press the retreating Confeder- 
ates. But above all, the object of the battle was won by General 
Jackaon. The Federal army in the Valley was detained there, 
and the troops which were on their way to Manassa's to in- 
crease the embarrassments of General Johnston, were recalled. 
The array of the latter extricated itself from its perilous 
situation, and retired in safety behind the Rappahannock, while 
M'Clellan, foiled in his plans, arrested his advance at Manassa's, 
and began to consider the policy of transferring the campaign 
to the Peninsula. 

Yet, General Jackson was not satisfied with the results, and 
insisted that a more resolute struggle for the field might have 
won it, even against the fearful odds opposed to him. The 
chief error of the battle, he believed, was the unexpected 
retreat of the Stonewall Brigade from the centre; for this 
necessitated the surrender of the field. His disapprobation 
was strongly expressed against its brave General, Garnett, nor 
was he willing to accept the justification, that their ammunition 
was expended. A regiment of reserves was at hand, and the 
bayonet, his favorite resource, yet remained to them; and he 



32 G LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

did not consider all tlio means of victory as exhausted, until the 
naked steel was employed. Justice to one now dead, requires 
that these facts should also be stated: that General Garuett's 
gallantry was declared by the officers of his brigade, to be 
conspicuous on this bloody field ; that they concurred with him 
in the opinion, that the troops were not withdrawn too soon to 
save them from destruction ; and that proceedings against him 
were dismissed, and he was again employed by the Government 
in a most honorable post, in which ho surrendered his life at the 
battle of Gettysburg. It is neither necessary nor practicable 
to pass a correct judgment upon the question, whether General 
Jackson's animadversions upon his conduct at KernStown were 
erroneous. It is enough to testify, that all men regarded them 
as consistent with the justice of his intentions. This instance 
may serve to show Jackson's rigid ideas of official duty, which 
were always more exacting, as men rose in rank. 

On the 1st of April, the army retreated to a range of high- 
lands overlooking the North Branch of the Shenandoah, five 
miles below the town of Newmarket, called Reede's Hill. The 
stream is bordered here by a wide expanse of fertile meadows, 
over which this hill dominates; and artillery posted upon it 
commands the bridge by which the great highway crosses 
it. The Federal forces, again under the command of General 
Banks, now advanced by slow and cautious steps to the opposing 
hills, whence, for many days, they cannonaded the Confederates 
without effect. General Jackson, meantime, keeping Colonel 
Ashby in front, busied himself in refitting his crippled artillery, 
and recruiting his forces. The 10th Virginia regiment joined him, 
and was assigned to the 3d brigade, to which Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Wm. B. Taliaferro was now promoted. His men returned 
rapidly from hospitals and furloughs, and a multitude of new 
recruits poured in, inspired by the growing fame of the General, 



IMPERFECT ORGANIZATION. 327 

and the urgency of their country's clanger. Especially was the 
enthusiasm of the people stimulated by the chivalrous and 
modest courage of Ashby, whose name roused the thrilling 
hearts of the youth, like the peal of a clarion. His regiment 
of troopers was speedily swelled to twenty-one companies, and 
more than two thousand men. Including these, General Jackson's 
aggregate force now mounted up to more than eleven thousand. 
But the irregularities and official neglects which have been 
described were still lurking in all the regiments, and prevalent 
in the cavalry. ColonclAshby had little genius for organization 
and discipline; tasks which, at best, are arduous in a force 
continually .scattered upon outposts, and harassed by hard- 
ships, and which were impracticable for a commander seconded 
by few competent officers, and compelled to launch his raw 
levies at once into the employments of veteran troopers. The 
continuance of this imperfect organization was caused by the 
indiscreet action of the War Department itself. The Secretary, 
dazzled by Colonel Ashby's fame and exploits, had given him 
independent authority to raise and command a cavalry force. 
When General Jackson attempted to stretch his vigorous hand 
over that part of his army, so as to bring order out of con- 
fusion, he was met with a reference to this separate authority," 
and a threat of resignation. Knowing Colonel Ashby's ascend- 
ancy over his men, and finding himself thus deprived of legiti- 
mate power, he was constrained to pause, and leave the cavalry 
unorganized and undisciplined. Colonel Ashby and a ]\Iajor 
were the only field-officers for the twenty-one companies ; nor 
had they any regimental organization whatever. The evils and 
disasters growing out of the crude condition of this force will 
manifest themselves in the subsequent narrative. They give a 
valuable illustration of the importance of those principles 
of military order and subordination, established by experience, 



328 .LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

and of the danger of such departures from them as that of the 
Secretary of War in making Colonel Ashby independent of his 
commanding General. Of his great command, one half was 
rarely available for duty, wliile the remainder were roaming 
over the country' imposing upon the generous hospitalities 
of the citizens, or lurking in their homes. The exploits of their 
famous leader were all porformcd with a few hundreds, or 
often scores, of men who followed liim from personal devotion 
rather than tlie force of discipline. Tims, the effective force 
which General Jackson was now able to wield against the 
enemy, may be correctly estimated as seven or eight thousand 
men, with thirty guns. 

The position on Reede's Hill, witli so strong an artillery, 
was impregnable in front. But Avhile, on the right, it was 
supported upon the Masanuttin Mountain, on the left it could 
be turned with facility by fords of the North River, above 
the main bridge, which were practicable in all dry seasons. 
Luckily, the melting snows of the western mountains concurred 
with the rains of spring, to swell the current, and General 
Jackson continued to hold the position until he should be more 
seriously menaced by Banks. Rs chief value to him was in 
the fact, that it covered the juncture of the great Valley turn- 
pike, at New Market, with that which leads across the Masanuttin, 
by Luray, the seat of justice for Pago County, to Culpepper. 
The head-quarters of General Jolmston, with the army of 
North Virginia, were now at that place, about fifty miles 
distant from General Jackson; and it was desirable to hold 
possession of the route, that a speedy union of the two armies 
might be effected, should necessity demand it. The next 
movements thence inaugurated a new arrangement of the 
forces upon the theatre of war. The chapter will therefore 
be closed with a few brief extracts from General Jackson's 



CORRESPONDENCE. 329 

letters to liis wife, illustrating tlie events which have just been 
narrated. 

March 24th, just after the battle of Kernstown, ho Tvrote : 

"Our God was mj shield. His protecting care is an addi- 
tional cause for gratitude." . . . . " My little army is in excel- 
lent spirits: it feels that it inflicted a severe blow on the 
enemy." 

April 7 th. " I trust you and all I have in the hands of an 
ever kind Providence, knowing that all things work together for 
the good of his people. So live that your sufferings may be 
sanctified to you; remembering that oar light afflictions, which 
are but for a moment, work out for us a far more exceeding and 
eternal weight of glory." [In allusion to the illness of his wife.] 

" Our gallant little army is increasing in numbers, and my 
prayer is, that it may be an army of the Iking God, as well as 
of its country. Yesterday was a lovely Sabbath day. Though 
I had not the privilege of hearing the word of life, yet it felt 
like a holy Sabbath day, beautiful, serene, holy and lovely. All 
it wanted was the church bell, and God's services in the sanctu- 
ary, to make it complete After God, our God, again 

blesses us with peace, I hope to visit this country with you, and 
enjoy its beauty and loveliness." 

No Cliristian reader can fail to note here, the parallelism 
between these sentiments, and those of the ancient warrior-saint, 
in similar circumstances. " How amiable are Thy tabernacles, 
Lord of hosts ! My soul longeth, yea, even faintcth, for the 
courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for 
the living God." 

April 11th. "I feel much. concerned at havmg no letter this 
week, bat my trust is in the Almightij. How precious is the 
consolation flowing from the Christian's assurance, that "all 
things work together for good, to them that ' love God.' " 
42 



330 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

" God gave US a glorious victory in tlio S. "W. (Shiloli), but 
tlic loss of tlie great Johnston is to bo mourned. I do not 
remember having ever felt so sad at the loss of a man whom I 
had never seen." 

In explanation of his Sabbath attack at Kernstown, he wrote: 

'' You appear greatly concerned about my attacking on Sun- 
day. I was greatly concerned too ; but I felt it my duty to do 
it, in consideration of the ruinous effects that might result from 
postponing the battle until the next morning. So far as I can 
sec, my course was a wise one ; the best that I could do under 
the circumstances, though very distasteful to my feelings, and I 
hope and pray to our Heavenly Father, that I may never again 
be circumstanced as on that day. I believed that so far as our 
troops were concerned, necessity and mercy both called for the 
battle." 

" I hope that the war will soon be over, and that I shall never 
again have to take the field. Arms is a profession that, if its 
principles are adhered to for success, requires an ofncer to do 
what he fears may be wrong, and yet, according to military 
experience, must be done, if success is attained. And this fact, 
of its being necessary to success, and being accompanied with 
success, and that a departure from it is accompanied with dis- 
aster, suggests that it must be right. Had I fougtit the battle 
on ]\Ionday, instead of Sunday, I fear our cause would have 
suffered; whereas, as things turned out, I consider our cause 
gained much from the engagement." 

For his achievement at Kernstown, the Confederate Con- 
gress rewarded him with the iirst of those honors, which were 
afterwards showered so thickly upon him. The following Res- 
olutions of Thanks were unanimously passed : 

1. "Resolved by the Congress of the Confederate States, 
That the thanks of Congress are due, and arc hereby tendered 



RECEIVES THANKS OF CONGRESS. 331 

to Major General Thomas J. Jackson, and the officers and men 
under his command, for gallant and meritorious services, in a 
successful engagement with a greatly superior force of the 
enemy, near Kernstown, Frederick Co., Va., on the 23d day of 
March, 1862." 

2. "Resolved, That these resolutions be communicated by 
the Secretary of War to Major General Jackson, and by him 
to his command." 



.'>32 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 



CHAPTER XI. 



irDOWELL. 



From April 1st to April 17tb, General Jackson occupied the 
position already described, uponRcede's Hill. Meantime, the 
grand armies of the Potomac had wholly changed their theatre 
of -war. April 1st, General M'Clellan appeared at Fortress 
Monroe, on the eastern extremity of the peninsula between the 
James and York Rivers, and began to direct the approaches of 
his miglity host against Richmond from that point. On the 
4th, he appeared before the lines of General Magrudcr, at 
Young's Mill, while at the same date, the troops of General 
Johnston were pouring through Richmond, from their lines 
behind the Rappahannock, to reinforce their brethren defending 
the peninsula. General Jackson's prospect of a junction with 
the main army in Culpepper were, therefore, at an end ; and his 
movements were thus rendered, for a time, more independent of 
the other Confederate forces. The correctness of liis reason- 
ings upon the probable movements of the Federalists was now 
verified. He was convinced that Staunton would be the aim of 
General Canks, if he were guided by a skilful strategy; and 
the Official Rcpo'rt of General M'Clellan, since published, shows 
that his instructions to that General were, to press to that point 
as soon as his means would permit. The forces at his disposal 
now amounted, according to General M^Clellan, to 25,000 men, 
besides General Blenker's Division of 10,000 Germans, which, 



RETIRES TO HARRISONBURG. 333 

Laving been just detached from the Federal Army of the Poto- 
mac, to reinforce General Fremont in the Northwest, was ordered 
to pause at Strasbourg, and support General Banks during the 
critical period of his movement. For the rest, the position of 
the Federal forces in Virginia v.'as the following: General 
Fremont, in command of the Northwestern Department, was 
organizing a powerful force at Wheeling, while General Milroy, 
under his orders, confronted the Confederates upon the Shenan- 
doah Mountain, twenty miles west of Staunton, and consider- 
able reserves, under General Schenck, were ready to support 
him in the Yallcy of the South Branch. At, and near Manassa's 
Junction, were stationed forces amounting to about 18,000 men, 
guarding Washington City against an imaginary incursion of the 
dreaded Rebels ; while the 1st Army Corps of General M-Dowell, 
detached from the grand army, against the urgent remonstrances 
of General M'Clellan, lay near Fredericksburg,, to protect the 
capital in that direction. 

On the side of the Confederates, were found the six regi- 
ments of General Edward Johnston, impregnably posted on the' 
Shenandoah Mountain ; the army of General Jackson at Reede's 
Hill; the Division of General Ewell upon the Rappahannock, 
confronting the Federalists npon the Orange and Alexandria 
Railroad; and the command of General Anderson, about 10,000 
strong, watching Fredericksburg, The whole remainder of the 
forces in Virginia was collected upon the peninsula, to resist the 
advance of M'Clellan. 

By the 1 7th of April, the fords of the North Fork of Shenan- 
doah, above Reede's Hill, were becoming practicable ; and Gen- 
eral Jackson's position there was no longer secure. He therefore 
resumed his retreat on that day, and retired, by two marches, to 
Harrisonburg, the capital of Rockingham county, upon the great 
Valley TurnpUce; while General Banks timidly pursued him. 



33-i LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

From Harrisonburg, he turned aside to the cast, and passing the 
southern end of the Masanuttin Mountain, which here sinks into 
the plain, crossed the South, or main Fork of the Shenandoah 
River, at Conrad's Store, and posted himself in .the valley of 
Elk Run, at the gorge of Swift Run Gap in the Blue Ridge. 
The highway to Staunton was now seemingly open to General 
Banks ; but he durst not pursue it. This was indeed, one of 
the most adroit manoeuvres of the great strategist. His position 
in the mouth of the mountain gorge was unassailable, and depriv- 
ed his adversary of all the advantage of his superior numbers. 
Yet he threatened thence the Federal rear, the moment they 
attempted to advance upon Staunton ; and thus arrested him as 
completely as though a superior force had been planted in his 
front. From his own rear, a good turnpike road led over Swift 
Run Gap, into Eastern Virginia, and to the Central Railroad, 
forty miles distant, at Gordonsville ; thus providing nim supplies, 
a secure line of retreat, and communication with General Ewell 
in Culpepper. There was, indeed, one grave objection to the 
movement ; but the manner in which General Jackson's insight 
into his adversary's character here modified his application of 
the maxims of the military art, most clearly displayed his genius. 
Had his enemy been enterprising, this objection would have been 
decisive ; but knowing his slowness and timidity, he safely disre- 
garded it. From Harrisonburg, a turnpike road leads southwest- 
ward to the Warm Springs, passing tlu'ough Jennings' Gap in 
tlie Great North Mountain, which was not guarded by any ade- 
(juate force, along the eastern base of the Shenandoah JMountaiu, 
in the immediate rear of General Edward Johnson's position 
there. A forced march of little more than one day would have 
conducted General Banks to this spot ; where proper concert 
with General Milroy, in front, would have ensured the destruc- 
tion of tlie little army of Confederates. The two Federal forces 



HIGH ESTIMATE OF LEE. 660 

united would then have easily occupied Staunton, and made the 
Valley untenable for Jackson, thus deprived of the expected co- 
operation of Johnson. But the fear of leaving his rear exposed 
for a moment to the terrible Stonewall, together with the diffi- 
culty of passing the Shenandoah at Bridgewater, where the 
citizens had destroyed the bridge, were enough to deter General 
Banks from so promising a movement. General Jackson stated 
in his correspondence, that he foresaw the danger of such a 
manoeuvre, aiid calculated the timidity of his opponent, as a 
sufficient defence. 

About the time of his march to Swift Run Gap, an incident 
occurred "U'liich showed his decision. The elevated valleys of 
the Blue Ridge Mountain are inhabited by a poor, rude, and 
hardy people, little amenable to law, in the best times, who live 
as much by hunting as by agriculture. Among a part of these, 
an insurrectionary movement arose against the conscription j 
and a few score of the men assembled in one of their fastnesses, 
and prepared for a forcible resistance to the laws. General 
Jaekson at once sent a force and dispersed them, capturing some 
of the more daring. For this act of promptitude he received 
the thanks of the authorities. 

In the previous winter. General R. E. Lee had been stationed 
next the President in Richmond, as general director of the ope- 
rations of all the armies in the field. The high estimate held by 
General Jackson of his character and accomplishments was 
pleasantly illustrated by the manner in v/hich he received the 
.news of this appointment, at Winchester. Much had been said 
by his friends there, of the desire that he should receive rein- 
forcements. One evening, at supper, he said, with a smile, to 
the lady whose hospitality he was sharing : " Well, Madam, I am 
reinforced at last;" and pointed her to a paragraph in the 
newspaper from Richmond just received, which announced the 



336 LIFE OF LIEUT.-flFA'RRAL JACKSOX. 

appointment of General Lee as Commander-in-Chief. It was 
liis wisdom and counsel, which he regarded as equivalent to new 
forces. 

While General Jackson held Banks thus check-mated for a 
fbrtnight at Harrisonburg, he was busily corresponding with 
General Lee concerning the proper direction to be given to his, 
and the neighboring Confederate forces. Three movements were 
discussed by them, of which the first was, to draw General Ewell 
to Swift Run Gap, in order to hold General Banks in check, 
while General Jackson combined with General Edward Johnson 
to deliver a crushing blow against Milroy, and then associated 
his and General EwelFs forces against Banks. The second was, 
to leave General Johnson for a little while, with a detachment 
from General Jackson's force intended to mask his withdrawal 
from -Banks, to hold the Yalley as best they might ; while he 
marched with General Ewell across the Eappahannock and made 
a vigorous onslaught against the Federalists upon the Manassa's 
Railroad, and at its Junction. It was hoped by General Lee, 
that the news of this attack, so far towards his base, would cause 
Banks's immediate retreat to "Winchester, or even to the Poto- 
mac. The third project was to leave the same dispositions for 
the defence of the Valley, effect a junction with General Ewell 
at Gordonsville, and marching thence to Fredericksburg, unite 
with the forces of Generals Anderson and Field, and attack the 
Federal army in that neighborhood. This assault gave promise 
of alarming the Government at Wasliington, of recalling Banks, 
and of disturbing the arrangements of General M'Clellan on the 
peninsula. As General Leo remarked, the dispersion of the 
enemy's forces clearly indicated the policy of concentration, to 
attack some one or other of their detachments. But he gave 
General Jackson full discretion to select the project which he 
preferred. He decir^ively chose the first. The secret history of 



DISPOSITIONS OF CONFEDEEATE FORCES. 337 

this movement is related here, because many have asserted, 
according to their I/ujiotliesis, that General Jackson was a mere 
fighter, and no strategist, that the plan of the Yalley campaign 
was due to another mind. On the contrarj^, the choice was left 
wholly to his judgment ; and the first among the three schemes, 
the one adopted, and so gloriously effected, was of his suggestion. 
It is easy to argue for his preference of it, after it was so sanc- 
tioned by complete success. But the considerations which seem 
to have decided General Jackson to prefer it were such as these : 
That it made a more complete concentration of our strength, in 
that it included General Edward Johnson, who, upon the other 
plans, would have been left aside, with a detachment, also, of 
General Jackson's own army ; that it provided a more complete 
protection for the Valley and Staunton, of which he so highly 
appreciated the strategic importance ; and that, if successful, it 
would as effectually neutralize the Federal forces on the Rappa- 
hannock, through the fears excited for Washington City, and thus 
assure the left flank of the army protecting Eichmond against an 
assault from the direction of Fredericksburg. 

General Ewell was accordingly withdrawn from the Eappa- 
hannock towards Gordonsville, and then, towards the eastern 
outlet of Swift Run Gap. He brought with him three brigades, 
those of Brigadier- Generals R. Taylor, Trimble, and Elzey, 
with two regiments of cavalry, commanded by Colonel Th. S. 
Munford, and Lieutenant-Colonel Flournoy, with an adequate 
supply of field artillery. The whole formed an aggregate of 
about 8,000 men, in an admii^able state of efficiency. The 
afternoon of April 30th, General Ewell entered Swift Run Gap, 
and took the position which General Jackson had just left to 
march towards Staunton. General Banks had been deceived by 
feints of an attack in force in the direction of Harrisonburg, on 
the previous day, and on that morning; so that he received 

43 



338 LIFE OF LIECT.-GENERAL JACKSON.' 

no knowledge of the true direction of General Jackson's move- 
ment. Tlio object of the latter was to reach Staunton by a 
route, which, while not so eu'cuitous as to consume invaluable 
time, should be sufficiently so, to conceal his march from the 
enemy, and protect him from an attack on the road. The 
incessant rams of a late and ungcnial spring had rendered all 
the roads, which were not paved, almost impracticable. After 
careful explorations. General Jackson determined to ascend the 
eastern or right bank of the Shenandoah river to Port Republic, 
a village seven miles from Ilarrisonburg, and then, instead 
of proceeding direct to Staunton by a road of twenty-five miles, 
to cross the Blue Ridge into Albemarle County, by Brown's 
Gap, and go thence to Staunton along the line of the Virginia 
Central Railroad. This route made three marches; but it 
completely masked his movement, and mystified both friends and 
foes; for no one, except the General's chief engineer, knew 
whether he was on his way to the east or the west. 

In the midst of a dreary rain, the army left its comfortless 
bivouac on the Elk Run, and made a half march, between the 
river and the western base of the Blue Ridge, towards Port 
Republic. The stream is here separated from the declivities 
of the mountain by a plain of two or three miles in breadth, 
whose flat, treacherous soil, softened by the rauis, was speedily 
converted by the trains of baggage and artillery, into a quag- 
mire without apparent bottom. If the teamsters attempted to 
evade this by turning aside into the woodlands, as soon as the 
fibrous roots of the surface were severed, the subsoil proved 
even more deceitful than the mire of the roads, and a few 
vehicles made the track impassable. The rivulets descending 
from the mountain were swollen into broad rivers, and the 
glades of the forest were converted into lakes. The straggluig 
column toiled along through water and mud for a few miles, yet 



JIARCH TO STAUNTON. 339 

enthusiastically cheering their General when he passed along it ; 
and then hivouacJced in the woods, while he, with his suite, found 
shelter in the hospitable mansion of General Lewis. In the 
morning, the clouds were gradually dispersed by the struggling 
sun ; and General Jackson, having established his head-quarters 
m the little village of Port Republic, and having assigned to a 
part of his staJBf the duty of arresting all transit between his 
line of march and the enemy, returned with the remainder, and 
addressed himself to the arduous task of extricating his trains 
from the slough, which would have been to any other, a " slough 
of despond." Each detachment was preceded by a largo 
party of pioneers, who, with excessive toil, so far repaired the 
effects wrought by the wheels of the preceding one, as to pass 
over another train. Whole road-beds formed of stones and 
brush-wood sunk into the quicksands, and others were placed 
above them, again and again. The General and his staif were 
seen dismounted, urging on the laborers ; and he carried stones 
and timber upon his own shoulders, with his uniform bespattered 
with mud like a common soldier's. From Thursday afternoon 
until Saturday morning, the trains struggled along, sorely scat- 
tered and travel-soiled, until at length, all were assembled at the 
western opening of Brown's Gap. The energy and determina- 
tion required to drive them, in a day and a half, through those 
sixteen miles of incredible difficulties, were equal to any dis- 
play of these qualities, ever made upon . the field of a great 
victory. 

The mountain-sides afforded a road-bed so stony, that no 
floods could soften it ; and on Saturday, the army passed over 
to Whitehall in Albemarle, by a track rough, but firm, cheered 
by a brilliant sun, and full of confidence and elation. The 
Sabbath morning dawned upon them clear and soft, in their 
pleasant bivouacs along the green meadows of Moorman's 



340 LIFE OF LIEUT. -GEXERAL JACKSON. 

rircr; and tlic General/ after- hard debate with himself, and 
"^th sore reluctaiicc, gave the order to march again, surrender- 
ing the day of holy rest, wliich he would have so much enjoyed, 
to military necessity. General Johnston reported himself closely 
pressed by the enemy -west of Staunton j and the crisis forbade 
the expenditure of a precious day. When Geileral Jackson had 
left the Great Valley Turnpike at Harrisonburg, to turn aside 
to Swift Run Gap, the people of Staunton, in theu' panic, 
supposed that he was gone to reinforce the army near Rich- 
mond, leaving them to their fate; and unauthorized messages 
from officers near head-quarters confirmed this erroneous con- 
struction of his movement. The consequence was a fit of 
alarm, in wliich public military stores were hastily removed or 
destroyed, and the most exciting news of the certain occupation 
of Staunton by the enemy was sent to the force on the Shenan- 
doah Mountain. General Jolmson was detained from his com- 
mand at. the time ; but the officer next in rank concluded that 
the juncture requii-ed immediate action, to rescue the army from 
cA-pture. He therefore evacuated his strong position on the 
moimtain, and retked to "West View, only six miles west 
of Staunton, prepared to evade the approach of Banks, on that 
place, and retire to the Blue Ridge. Thus the advanced forces 
of Milroy were brought within ten miles of Staunton, and he 
was about to establish his communications with the Federalists 
at Harrisonburg. General Jackson therefore pressed forward 
from Whitehall to Staunton, reaching the latter place at evening 
on the Sabbath; to the unspeakable delight of the mhabitants, 
who had only heard that the army had disappeared again into 
Eastern Virginia, no one knew whither. By Monday evening, 
llic whole army came up, and 41ic junction with General Johnson 
was virtually effected.- 

Meantime, General Banks no sooner learned tliat General 



COLLISION WITH THE ENEMY. 341 

Ewell had reached Elk Run, and that General Jackson had 
vanished thence, than he hastily evacnated Harrisonburg; and 
retreated to Strasburg, followed by the cavalry of Ashby. The 
imagination of the Federal leader was affrighted with the notion 
of an attack in front from Ewell, while the mysterious Jackson 
should fall upon his ilank or rear, from some unimagiued quarter. 
Yet his force present at Harrisonburg, about twenty thousand 
men, was superior to that of both generals united ! 

On Wednesday morning. May 7th, a day having been empIo3'ed 
in collecting and refreshing the troops. General Johnson broke 
up his camp at West View at an early hour, and marched against 
the enemy, followed by General Jackson in supporting distance, 
with the brigade of General Taliaferro in front, that of Colonel 
Campbell next, and the Stonewall Brigade, now commanded by 
General Charles S. Winder, in the rear. The Corps of Cadets, 
from the Military Academy, forming a gallant battalion of four 
companies of infantry, under their teachers, was also attached to 
the expedition. The spruce equipments and exact drill of these 
youths formed a strong contrast with the war-worn and noncha- 
lant veterans, as they stepped out, full of enthusiasm, to take 
their first actual look upon the horrid visage of War, under their 
renowned Professor. 

The first collision with the enemy occurred about mid-day, at 
the intersection of the Harrisonburg and Parkersburg turnpikes. 
There a Federal picket was surprised, and nearly captured, 
escaping with the loss of a few men and horses. Their advanced 
posts at the eastern and western bases of the Shenandoah Moun- 
tain were immediately deserted, with some military stores, and 
the position upon the top of the mountain, lately held by the 
Confederates ; and they retired across the Bull Pasture Moun- 
tain to McDowell, making no other resistance to the advance of 
the Confederates, than a few ineffectual cannon shots. The 



34:2 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

latter paused for tlic iiiglit upon both sides of the Shcnaudoali 
lyiountain, witli the rear brigades many miles behind the front. 
On Thursday morning, May 8th, the march was resumed early, 
■with General Johnson's regiments still in advance, and the 
ascent of the Bull Pasture Mountain was commenced. This 
ridge, unlike its neighbors, has a breadth of a couple of miles 
upon its top, which might be correctly termed a table-land, were 
it not occupied by clusters of precipitous hills, which are them- 
selves almost mountainous in their dimensions and ruggedness. 
The Parkersburg turnpike, proceeding westward, ascends to this 
table land, passes across it, and descends to the Bull Pasture 
Eiver, by a sinuous course, along the ravines which seam the sides 
and top of the mountain alike ; so that it is almost everywhere 
commandad, on one or both sides, by the steep and wooded 
banks of the valleys which it threads. On the right and left of 
the road, the western portions of the rough ;plateau which has 
been described, were occupied by pasture lands, covered with 
the richest greensward, with here and there the prostrate trunk 
of a forest tree long since gu'dled and killed. The chasm which 
separates the higher reaches of these lofty pastures, is a mile in 
width ; and far down in its bottom, the turnpike descends toward 
the river, until it debouches through a straight gorge of a few 
hundred yards in length, upon the bridge. Artillery, planted 
upon a hillock beyond the river, commanded this reach of the 
road with a murderous fire. 

Generals Jackson and Johnson having cautiously ascended 
the mountain, and driven away a picket of the enemy which 
quartered its top, proceeded to the western ridge of the pastm-e 
lands on the left of the road, and occupied the forenoon 
in examining the position of the enemy. The grounds here 
belonged to a patriotic citizen named Sitliugton ; while the rival 
heights, on the right of the turnpike, 'fed the cattle of a 



COLLISION WITH THE ENEJIY. 343 

« 

proprietor named Hull. The latter were found to be occupied 
hj two regiments of Federal riflemen ; but the distance was too 
great for effective volleys. Beneath them lay the smiling hamlet 
of McDowell, crowded with -Federal troops, stores, and artillery, 
while beyond, the champaigTi stretched away with a smooth and 
gentle ascent to the westward, for a number of miles. The 
edges of the vale next to the position of the Confederate Gen- 
erals were fringed by a forest, which covered the steeper and 
more barren slopes of the mountain's foot. This wood was 
speedily found to be infested by the enemy's skirmishers ; but a 
detachment of General Johnson's riflemen easily kept them at 
bay, and chastised their audacity whenever they attempted to- 
advance from cover. The open field itself, of a mile's length, 
was heaved into confused and billowy ridges, presenting, on the 
whole, the concavity of an irregular crescent toward the west. 
The ravine by which the Confederates reached this field from 
the turnpike, is narrow and precipitous, and occupied both by 
the forest and by a stream of rude boulders, which the rains had 
precipitated from the ridge above. Yet it was judged that, by 
the strenuous exertions of men and horses, field guns might have 
been carried up after several hours' labor. 

From the ridges of the pasture-field. General Jackson quietly 
watched the enemy far below him, for a number of hours ; while 
they cannonaded him and his escort from a battery on the farther 
side of the vale, whose guns had their muzzles elevated toward 
the sky, and their trails thrust into trenches in the gTound. It 
was no part of his purpose to engage them that day, nor on that 
ground. He had reason to hope that they were ignorant of his 
junction with General Johnson, and that they supposed they had 
only the six regimeii^ of the latter to deal with. His troops 
had not all .come up ; and the Stonewall Brigade especially, was 
many miles in the rear. His purpose was to amuse the enemy. 



3-14 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

vrliile liis engineers diligently explored the mountain to the right 
and left, for a road which might lead him to their rear. To the 
zeal of his artillery officers, who offered to bring up batteries, he 
quietly replied : "Thank you; not .yet;" and at length added 
to one of them: "Perhaps Providence may open a way toward 
Monterey for you tomorrow." (Monterey is the next village ten 
miles west of McDowell; and was in the enemy's rear.) In 
truth, his explorations had already been successful in leading 
him to a rude mountain road, practicable for artillery, which, 
passing far to the right of Hull's mountain pastures, enters the 
highway five miles in the rear of McDowell ; and his orders were 
gust issued to move a formidable park of artillery, with sufficient 
escort, by this road, during the night; who were to assume a 
good position behind the enemy. Ilis preponderance of force 
would have enabled him thus to envelop and crush the army of 
lililroy. / 

But that officer had astuteness enough, though ignorant of 
these formidable preparations, to apprehend something of the 
danger of his position. If once the lofty fields occupied bv 
Generals Jackson and Johnson were crowned with artillery, 
their plunging fire would have made the whole valley of 
M'Dowell untenable for him; and the altitude forbade an 
effective reply. At mid-day General Schenck arrived with three 
thousand additional bayonets : and they resolved to take the 
initiative, and drive the Confederates from their threatening 
position at once. How little purpose General Jackson had 
of commencing the action that evening, appears from the fact, 
that as the afternoon advanced, he had dismissed all his staff. 
save two members, upon different errands, with kindly instruc- 
tions to seek the repose of their quarters #]ien they had fulfilled 
those functions, and had sent orders to the StonewuU Brigade, 
which was at length approaching the top of the mountain, to 



• BATTLE OF MCDOWELL. 345 

descend again, and seek a suitable encampment. But the 
advance of the enemy did not, for all this, find him unprepared. 
Although he .had carefully avoided making any display of force 
upon the open hills, the regiments of General Johnson were 
close at hand, and the brigades of Taliaferro and Campbell 
within supporting distance. The aggressive intentions of the 
enemy now becommg manifest, the 52d Virginia regiment was 
brought upon the field, and posted upon the left, speedily 
followed by the 58th and 44th Virginia, and the 12th Georgia 
regiments. The 52d Virginia having been disposed as skir- 
misher's, were speedily engaged in a brisk encounter with the 
enemy's skirmishers, whom they handsomely repulsed. The 
other three regiments then arriving, were soon afterwards posted 
as follows: the 12th Georgia on the crest of the hill, and 
forming the centre of the Confederate line, the 58th Virginia on 
the left to support the 5 2d, and the 4r4th Virginia on the right 
near a ravine. 

General Milroy's advance now began in good earnest. He 
was protected in his approach by the convexity of the hills, and 
by the wood interposed in the Confederate front, until he 
emerged from it, and engaged their skirmishers. These he 
drove before him, and poured a galling fire into the Confederate 
right, whicli was returned, and a brisk and animated contest 
was kept up for some time ; when General Johnson's two remain- 
ing regiments, the 25 th and 31st Virginia came up and were 
posted on the right. The fire was now rapid and well sustained 
on both sides, and tlie conflict fierce and sanguinary. The 
narrow and rough ravine by which the Confederate troops 
ascended from the left side of the turnpike to the field of battle, 
has been described. If the enemy advanced along tlip highway 
and seized its mouth, the results would be disastrous. To 
prevent the possibility of such a movement, the 31st Virginia 

44 



346 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

•vras posted on both sides of the road, between that point and 
the enemy. It was, not long after, ordered to join its brigade 
in action; and its place was taken by the 21st Vii-ginia. To 
the commander of tliis regiment General Jackson gave his 
orders in person. They were, that he should avail himself of 
every mequality of the ground to protect his men, and then 
hold the turnpike against all odds, and at every cost. 

The engagement had now not only become general along the 
entire line, but so furious, that General Jackson ordered General 
Taliaferro to >the support of General Johnson. Accordingly, 
the 23d and 37th Virginia regiments were advanced to the 
centre of the line which was then held by the 12th Georgia, 
with heroic gallantry; and the 10th Virginia was ordered to 
support the 52d Virginia, which had already driven the enemy 
from the left, and had now advanced to make a flank movement* 
on him. At this time the Federalists were pressing forward in 
strong force on the extreme right of the Confederates, with a 
view of turning that position. This movement was speedily 
► . detected, and met by General Taliaferro's brigade, and the 12th 
Georgia, with great promptitude. Further to check it, portions 
of the 25th and 31st Virginia regiments were sent to occupy 
an elevated piece of woodland on the right and rear, so situated 
as fully to command the position of the enemy. The brigade 
commanded by Colonel Campbell, coming up about this time, 
was ordered, together with the 10th Virginia, down the ridge 
into the woods, to guard against designs upon the right flank. 
This duty they, in connexion with the other force, effectually 
performed. The battle had now raged from half past four to 
half past eight o'clock p. m., and the shades of night had 
descended. Every attempt of the enemy by front or flank 
movement, to attain the crest of the hills where General Jack- 
son's line was formed, was signally and efi'cctually repulsed; 



EETREAT OF MILEOY. 347 

and tliey finally ceased firing and retired from tlie field. During 
all the earlier portions of the engagement, the enemy's artillery 
on the farther side of the valley was actively employed in 
throwing shot and shell, until their infantry approached too 
closely. But the elevation of the mountain, and the slielter 
o:^ the sharp ridges rendered their fire ineffectual. Only one of 
the Confederate slain lost his life by a cannon shot. General 
■Jackson brought up na artillery ; assigning as his reason, that in 
case of disaster, there was no road by which it could be 
promptly withdrawn. The battle may therefore be said to have 
been fought with musketry alone. 

By nine o'clock, the roar of the struggle had passed away ; 
and the green battle-field reposed under the starlight, as calmly 
as when it had been occupied only by its peaceful herds. De- 
tacliments of soldiers were silently exploring the ground for 
their wounded comrades, while the tired troops were slowly 
filing off to their bivouac. At midnight the last sufferer had 
been removed, and the last picket posted; and then only did 
General Jackson turn, to seek a few hours repose in a farm- 
house at the eastern base of the mountain. The valley of 
McDowell lay beneath him in equal quiet. The camp-fires 
^f the Federals blazed ostentatiously in long and regular 
lines, and their host seemed to be wrapped in sleep. At one 
o'clock A. M., the General reached his quarters, and threw 
himself upon a bed. When his faitliful servant, knowing that 
he had eaten nothing since morning, came with food, he said, " I 
want none; nothing but sleep " — and in a minute, was slumber- 
ing like a healthy mfant. The dawn found him in the saddle, 
and ascending the mountain again. When ho reached the crest 
of the battle-field, he saw the vale beneath him deserted ; the foe 
had decamped in the night, leaving theii' dead, and partially 
destroying their camp-equipage and stores. The pebbly bottom 



348 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

of tlic neighboring stream Tvas found strcwTi with tens of thou- 
sands of musket-cartridges, .and .vast heaps of bread "vrerc still 
smoking amidst the ashes of the store-houses which had sheltered 
them. After marchmg west for a few miles, General ^Milroy 
sought the sources of the South Branch of the Potomac, and 
turned northward down that stream, along which a good high- 
way led toward Franklin and Romney. His aim was to meet 
the reinforcements of General Fremont, -which, he hoped, wcro 
approaching by that route, from the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- 
road. The line of his retreat was marked by the graves of his 
wounded, and the wreck of an occasional carriage. 

The loss of the Confederates in this engagement was sixty- 
nine killed, and three hundred and ninety-one wounded ; making 
a total of four hundred and sixty men. The greatest carnage 
occurred in the ranks of the famous 12th Georgia regiment, 
which had thii-ty-five killed, and one hundred and forty wounded. 
This noble body, trained under the eye of General Edward John- 
son, when Colonel, held the centre of the battle from the begin- 
ning to the end. But their heavy loss was also due to theii- own 
zeal and chivalry. Having been advanced at first, in front of the 
crest of the hills, where theii" line showed to their enemies from 
beneath, in bold relief against the sky, they could' not be per- 
suaded to retire to the reverse of the ridge, where many of the 
other regiments found partial protection without sacrificing the 
efficiency of then' fire. Their commander, perceiving their 
useless exposure, endeavored again and again to withdraw them ; 
but amidst the roar of the musketry his voice was lifted up in 
vain; and when by passing along the ranks he persuaded or 
entreated one wing of the regiment to recede, they rushed again 
to the front while he was gone to expostulate with the other. A 
tall Georgia youth expressed the spirit of his comrades, when he 
replied the next day to the question, why they did not retreat to 



LACONIC DESPATCH. 349 

the slielter of the riclge behind them, whence thej could fight the 
battle equally well : " We did not come aU this way to Yirginia, 
to run before Yankees." 

Just before the close, of the engagement, General Johnson 
received a painful wound in the anlde, which, breaking one of its 
bones, compelled him to leave the field. General Jackson paid 
him the following merited tribute in his report : " General John- 
son, to whom I had entrusted the management of the troops 
engaged, proved himself eminently worthy of the confidence 
reposed in him, by the skill, gallantry, and presence of mind, 
which he displayed on the occasion." Colonel Gibbons, com- 
manding the 10th Virginia, a Christian gentleman and soldier, 
beloved by all his comrades, fell dead as he was bringing his 
men into position ; and he was the only person in his regiment 
who was struck. Colonel Harman, of the 52 d Virginia, Colonel 
Smith, and "Major Higginbotham, of the 25th, and Major Camp- 
bell, of the 42d Virginia, were wounded. At the beginning of 
the action, General Jackson was, for the reason stated above, 
accompanied by only two of his staff: Captain Lee, his ordnance- 
officer, and Lieutenant Meade, his Aide. These two, by their zeal 
and com-age, temporarily supplied the place of all ; and Captain 
Lee received a severe wound in the head. The Federal loss 
was estimated by General Johnson, who witnessed nearly the 
whole struggle, to be double that of the Confederates ; but this 
reckoning was probably too large. Few prisoners were taken 
on either side ; but among those captured by Jackson was a 
Colonel of an Ohio regiment. Some Quarter-Master's and 
Commissary stores, arms, ammunition, and cavalry equipments 
remained for the victors. The force of General Milroy was 
supposed to be 8,000 men. Of General Jackson's, about G,000, 
or only half his force, were engaged. 

From M'Dowell, General Jackson sent the following modest 



350 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACESON. 

and laconic dcspatcli, the first of those missives wliicli, during 
the remainder of his career, so frequently electrified the country 
with joy: 

Vallbt District, Mat 9th, 1862. 
To Gen. S. Cooper: 

" God blessed our arms with victory at M'Dowell yesterday." 

T. J. Jackson, Major- General. 

This amiouncement was received by the people of Virginia 
and of the Confederate States with peculiar delight, because it 
was the first Ijlush of t'lc returning day of triumphs after a 
season of gloomy disasters. The campaign had opened with 
the fall of Fort Donclson and the occupation of Nashville. The 
fruitless victory of Shiloh had been counterpoised in April by the 
fall of New Orleans, a loss as unexpected to the Confederates as 
it was momentous. On the 4th of May, while Generals Jackson 
and Johnson were cfiecting their junction at Staunton, York- 
town was deserted by the Confederates, and, on the next da}', 
Williamsburg fell into their hands after a bloody combat. On 
the 9 th, Norfolk surrendered to the enemy, and, on the 11th, 
the gallant ship Virginia, the pride and confidence of the people, 
was destroyed by her own commander. The victory of McDow- 
ell was the one gleam of brightness athwart all these clouds ; 
and the eyes of the people turned with hope and joy to the 
young soldier who had achieved it, and recognized in this happy 
beginning the vigor and genius of the great commander. 

General Jackson immediately threw forward a few companies 
of cavalry under Captain Sheetz to harass the enemy's rear, and 
collected his infantry in the valley beyond McDowell to prepare 
for a close pursuit. The mountain passes by which General 
Banks might have communicated succors to Milroy were imme- 
diately obstructed, and an active officer was sent by a circuitous 



PUESUIT OF MILROY. 351 

route to tlie nortliern parts of PcndlGton coimtjj below Franklin, 
to collect the partisan soldiers of the mountains in the enemy's 
rear. They were exhorted to fill the roads with felled timber, 
to tear down the walls which supported the turnpike along, 
the precipitous cliffs, and to destroy the bridges, in order that 
the retreat of Milroy might be retarded, and the advance of 
Fremont to his aid checked, until his flying army was again 
beaten and dispersed. Saturday morning, the victors resumed 
their march, refreshed by a night of quiet rest, and pressed the 
enemy so hard, that General Jackson hoped in the afternoon to 
bring them to bay. Their rear-guard assumed a position, and 
held the Confederate cavalry ia check. General Jackson dis- 
posed his troops, and issued his orders for battle with a stern 
joy ; but the slippery game soon continued its flight. The next 
morning was the Sabbath; but after anxious deliberation, the 
Confederate General concluded that the importance of over- 
taking the enemy, who would certainly *not pause from any 
reverence for the sacred day, and of inflicting another disaster 
before the reinforcements of General Fremont arrived, required 
him to disregard its claims. When he began to urge the enemy 
again, the Federals resorted to the expedient of setting fire to 
the forests upon the mountaui sides, in order to envelop their 
flight in obscurity. Soon the sky was overcast with volumes of 
smoke, which almost hid the scene, and wrapped every distant 
object in a veil, impenetrable to the eyes and the telescopes of 
the officers alike. Through this sultry fog the pursuing army 
felt its way cautiously along, cannonaded by the enemy from 
every advantageous position ; while it was protected from am- 
buscades only by detachments of skirmishers, who scoured .the 
burning woods on each side of the highway. As fast as these 
could scramble over the precipitous hills, and through the blazing 
thickets, the great columm crept along the main road, like a lazy 



352 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

serpent ; their General often far in advance of its head, in his 
eagerness to overtake the ibe. He declared that tliis smohc 
■was the most adroit expedient, to Avhich a retreating army could 
resort, to embarrass pursuit, and that it entailed upon him all 
the disadvantages of a night attack. Cy slow approaches, and 
constant skirmishing, the enemy "were driven to the village of 
Franklin ; when the double darlmess of the night, and the fog, 
again arrested his progress. 

When the morning of Monday arrived. General Jaclison 
resolved to discontinue his pursuit of Milroy, and return to 
pay his respects to General Banks. Several considerations 
weighed together, to determine his judgment. He ascertained 
that his orders for obstructing the turnpike below Franklin had 
been disregarded by the citizens; and their supinencss and 
timidity filled him with disgust. It was now obvious that his 
cunning adversary, with an unobstructed road for retreat, and 
all the advantages of a mountainous country for defence, would 
not be brought to a battle, until he had received the support of 
General Fremont. On the other hand, the concentration of the 
Confederates was only half completed, for the excellent divis- 
ion of General Ewcll, was still to be associated "with the forces 
of Jackson; and prudence dictated that the risk of such a 
cqjllision -as that, with Fremont and Milroy united, should not be 
taken without the advantage of all the strength attainable by 
him. ^Moreover, time was precious ; for he knew not how soon 
a new emergency at Fredericksburg or at Richmond, might 
occasion the recall of General Ewell to the East, and deprive 
Jiim of the power to strike any effective blow against General 
BanJvS. The motive last mentioned was perhaps the most oper- 
ative of all ; for he knew that the loan of General Ewell's aid 
to him by the Confederate authorities at Richmond, was not en- 
tirely hearty, and that they did not wholly conoui* in his estimate 



MARCH TO THE EASTWARD. 353 

of the importance of protecting his District from invasion. But 
the conclusive reason, was a despatch from General Lee, May 
11th, requiring his return. The same day General Jackson sent 
a courier to General Ewell, to announce' his coming, who was 
commanded to ride post-haste with his message. 

General Jackson, therefore, prepared to turn his face east- 
ward again. He granted the soldiers the half of Monday as a 
season of rest, in lieu of the Sabbath, which had been devoted 
to warfare ; and issued the following order to them. 

" Soldiers of the army of the Valley and North West." " I 
congratulate you on your recent victory at McDowell. I request 
you to unite with me, this morning, in thanksgivings to Almighty 
God, for thus having crowned your arms with success ; and in 
praying that He will continue to lead you on from victory to 
victory, until our independence shall be established ; and make 
us that people 'Whose God is the Lord." . 

"The chaplains will hold divine service at 10 o'clock A. M., 
this day, in their respective regiments." 

The different groups were accordingly soon assembled, beneath 
a genial sun, along the verdant meadows of the South Branch ; 
and the neighbormg mountains, which, on the Sabbath, had 
reverberated with the bellowings of cannon, now echoed the 
Sabbath hymns. The commanding General attended reverently 
the worship of a company of artillery near his tent. After mid- 
day, the camps were broken up, and the march was resumed for 
M'Dowell; which the army reached "Wednesday evening. The 
next day's journey brought them to the Lebanon Springs, on the 
road to Harrisonburg ; where they paused for a day, Friday, 
May 16th, to observe a season of national humiliation and 
prayer, appointed by the Confederate Government, for all the 
people and armies. On Saturday, an easy march was ended, 
in the beautiful region of Mossy Creek ; where the troops, no 

45 



354 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GBXERAL JACKSON. 

longer pressed by a military exigency, were allowed to spend 
a quiet Sabbath. 

One incident remains to be mentioned, illustrating Jackson's 
iron will, which occurred while the army paused on this march, 
at M'Dowell. A part of the men of the 27th regiment, in the 
Stonewall Brigade, who had volunteered for twelve months, now 
found their year just expired. Assuming that the application 
of the late conscription to them was a breach of faith, they 
demanded their discharge, and laying down their arms, refused 
to serve another day. Their gallant Colonel Grigsby referred 
the case to General Jackson for instructions. On hearing it 
detailed, he exclaimed, his eye flashing, and his brow rigid with 
a portentous sternness, '- What is this but mutiny ? Why does 
Colonel Grigsby refer to me, to know what to do with a mutiny ? 
He should shoot them, where they stand." He then turned to 
his adjutant, and dictated an order to the Colonel to parade his 
regiment instantly, with loaded muskets, to draw up the insubor- 
dinate companies in front of them, disarmed, and oflcr them the 
alternative Of returning to duty, or being fusilladed on the spot. 
The order was obeyed, and the mutineers, when thus confronted 
with instant death, promptly reconsidered their resolution. 
They could not be afterwards distinguished from the rest of tlic 
regiment in their soldierly behavior; and this was the last 
attempt at organized disobedience in the army. 



WmCHESTER. 355 



CHAPTER XII. 

WINCHESTER. 

While General Jackson was liurrjdng back from Franklin, 
critical events were occurring at Richmond, "whicli must be known 
in order to appreciate the value of his victories, and their effect 
upon the public mind. The destruction of the ship Virginia by 
her crew, on the 11th of May, has been narrated. This blunder 
left the River James open to the enemy's fleet, up to the wharves 
of the city. The Confederate engineers had indeed projected 
an earthwork upon an admirable position, seven miles below, 
where the lands of a planter named Drewry overlooked a nar- 
row reach of the stream, in a lofty bluff or precipitous hill. 
But so nerveless and dilatory had been their exertions, that 
when tlie river was thus opened to the enemy, there were neither 
guns mounted upon the unfinished ramparts of earth, nor 
obstructions completed in the channel beneath. The Legisla- 
ture of Virginia had urged upon the Confederate War Depart- 
ment, the vast importance of defending this avenue to tlie Capital 
of the Commonwealth, and had received promises; but they 
remained unfulfilled. The hurried removal of military stores to 
the Southwest ; the packing of the archives of the Confederate 
Departments, and the significant movements of their occupants, 
now indicated the purpose of the Government to desert Rich- 
mond to the enemy. Not only was it left approachable by 
water; but the grand army of M'Clellan had pressed from the 



356 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

peninsula up to the neighborhood of the city on the east, wliile 
a strong and increasing army under General M'Dowell, at 
Fredericksburg, thi'catencd it by a northern route of only three 
marches, with no adequate force to oppose him. It vras in this 
gloomy hour, that the spirit of the General Assembly of Vir- 
ginia, and of the citizens of her Capital, flamed up with a lofty 
and unshaken heroism, worthy to be compared with the noblest ' 
displays of patriotism in all the ages. The former body 
addressed to the President of the Confederate States, a Resolu- 
tion, requesting him to defend the city, if necessary, until one 
stone was not left upon another, and proposing to lay it as a 
sacrifice, with all its wealth, upon the country's altar. The 
Town-council met, and amidst the stern and unanimous enthusi- 
asm of the citizens, seconded this'' resolve. They were deter- 
mined, that if the city could not be successfully defended, it 
should only be yielded to the enemy as a barren heap of rub- 
bish, the scpulclu-c, and glorious monument at once, of its 
defenders. The General Assembly sent its Committee to lay 
their wishes before the President ; who thanked them for their 
devotion, and assured them that the evacuation of Richmond, if 
it occurred, would by no means imply the desertion of Virginia. 
Even while they conferred together, a courier brought Mm news, 
that some Federal ships of war, availing themselves of the 
absence of the Vkginia, were ascending the river, with the 
evident intention of reaching Richmond. Rising from his seat, 
he dismissed the Committee, saying, " This manifestly concludes 
the matter ;" and proceeded to arrange for the removal of his 
family. But the timidity of the Federalists, afraid of torpedoes, 
or spmc other secret annoyance, and incredulous that so vital a 
point could indeed be left open for them, for this time saved the 
city ; which, so far as its proper defenders were concerned, was 
ah'cady lost. The ships paused to make soundmgs, and to 



MAIN OBJECT OF THE CAMPAIGN. 357 

reconnoitre the banks ; and meantime; the citizens went to work. 
The City Council called upon the Confederate Engineers, to 
know what they lacked for the immediate completion of their 
works ; and pledged themselves to supply everything. The citi- 
zens themselves turned laborers, and di^apers and bankers were 
seen at the port, loading barges with stone. Two or three 
excellent guns were mounted ; great timbers were hewn, floated 
to the foot of Drewry's Bluff, and built into a row of cribs ; 
which, when ballasted with stone and bricks, promised to resist 
the momentum of the heaviest ships. By the 15th of May, 
when the advance of the Federal fleet appeared, after their 
cautious dallying, these beginnings of defences were made ; and 
the three guns, manned by Confederate marines, gloriously-lbeat- 
off the gunboats Monitor and Galena, with no little damage of 
their boasted invulnerability. 

The benefit wrought "by these events upon the temper of the 
people, which was before tending fast to abject discouragement, 
cannot be described by words. The Confederate authorities 
had doubtless decided with perfect correctness, according to the 
technical maxims of war, that Richmond was untenable; but 
fortunately, the great heart of the " Unterrified Commonwealth " 
was wiser than the intellect of the Government. Her glorious 
example sent a quickening pulsation of generous shame, of hope, 
and of courage, through the veins of the army and of all the 
States. Throughout the Confederacy, her high determination. 
was re-echoed ; the people everywhere resolved rather to sacri- 
fice their homes to the magnanimous work of defence, than to 
yield them a coveted prey to the enemy ; the Government and 
Generals began, in good earnest, to prepare for holding the 
Capital against every assault. 

This was, properly, the main object of the campaign, and 
all other movements were auxiliary to it. General Jackson's 



358 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

command was expected to concur in securing the Capital, by so 
dealing with that of General Banks, as to neutralize his co- 
operation in movements against Riclunond, whatever might be 
tlie form they assumed. General Lee, reasoning from the 
strategic principles which he thought should have governed 
M'Clellan and Banks, and from news of partial movements 
OL the forces of the latter towards Eastern Virginia, anticipated 
the sudden withdrawal of his whole army from the Yalle}", to 
Fredericksburg, for a combined movement with M'Dowell 
against Richmond ; or even to the peninsula. General Jackson 
was steadfast in the opinion, that Banks's objective point was 
still Staunton, and the command of the Central Railroad ; and 
he tliercfore confidently expected to fight him in the Valley. 
General Joseph E. Johnston, who, as commander of the Depart- 
ment of North Virginia, was still General Jackson's immediate 
superior, constantly instructed him and General Ewcll, in his 
despatches to them, to observe these two injunctions : If Gen- 
eral Banks moved his army to M'Dowell at Fredericksburg, to 
march immediately by way of Gordonsville, and join General 
Anderson at some point in front of the former to"svn ; or if he 
remained in the Valley, to fight him there immediately, only 
avoiding the clTusion of blood in assaults of a fortified position. 
But he left it to them to decide which of these alternatives was 
about to become necessary. Li the case that they were com- 
pelled to follow Banks to Fredericksburg, General Edward 
Johnson was to bo left with his six regiments, to hold the Valley 
against Fremont, as he best might. Two more fine brigades were 
sent from Richmond to Gordonsville, to assist General JacksoA 
in Ills, movement against Banks; but before a junction was 
ciiectcd with him, tliey were suddenly ordered back to the 
neighborhood of Richmond, to defend the approaches on the side 
of Fredericksburg ; whei'c they soon after suffered a disastrous 



JUNCTION WITH EWELL. 359 

defeat from M'Clellan's advance, at Hanover Court House. 
Jackson was also very nearly deprived of the assistance of 
General Ewell, by the same uneasiness concerning an attack 
from the side of Fredericksburg, After a series of despatches, 
^■arying with the appearances of danger, the lal^ter General was 
finally instructed by the Commander-in-Chief, that it would be 
necessary for him to move at once from Swift Eun Gap towards 
Gordonsville. But he had just been informed by General 
Jackson, that he was hastening back, to effect a junction with 
liim near Harrisonburg, and to assail Banks. Mounting his 
horse, without escort. General Ewell rode express, night and 
day, and met Jackson on the Sabbath, May 18th, at j^Iossy 
Creek, to inform liim of this necessity for inflicting so cruel a 
disappointment upon him. The latter uttered no complaint, and 
made no comment ; although the sleepless energy with which he 
had been pressing forward, told how dear the project was to his 
wishes. He meekly replied ; " Then Providence denies me the 
privilege of striking a decisive blow for my country; and I 
must be satisfied with the humble task of hiding my little army 
about these mountains, to watch a superior force." The warm 
and generous heart of Ewell was touched with such an .exliibi- 
tion of unselfish devotion, and was unwilling to desert him. 
He therefore proposed that if Jackson, under whose immediate 
orders he was, as ranking Major-General, would assume the 
responsibility of detaining him until a remonstrance could be 
uttered against his removal, he would remain. The contingency 
under which General Jolmston had authorized him to leave the 
Valley had not yet occurred; and the discretion which their 
general instructions conceded to General Jackson, for regulating 
his movements according to cu'cumstances, authorized such an 
exercise of power. It was therefore concluded between them, 
that the junction should be completed at New Marliet, a day's 



360 LIFE OP LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSOX. 

inarch below Harrisonburg, The unwearied Ewell, after resting 
his limbs during public worship, again mounted his horse 
and returned to hurry on his division. 

It is now time to pause, and explain the proceedings of 
General Banks. His precipitate withdrawal from Harrison- 
bui^g, upon the movement of Generals Jackson and Ewell, has 
been described. He retired first to New Market, and then, 
leaving a heavy rear-guard in that region, to Strasbourg, twenty 
miles above Winchester ; where he began fortifying himself in a 
strong position, commanding at once the great Valley Turnpike 
leading to Winchester, and the Manassa's Railroad leading 
towards Alexandria. The cavalry of Ashby, following close 
upon his rear, watched all the roads of the main Valley; 
while that of General Ewcll guarded the communications 
between the Masanuttiu Mountain and the Blue Ridge. A 
system of strategy was now begun by the Federalists, dictated 
by the senseless fears of the Executive at Washington, and by 
the judicial blmdness dispensed to them from a Divine Provi- 
dence merciful to the Confederates, in which every movement 
was a blunder. The aggressive attempt upon Staunton was 
postponed, at the precise juncture when it should have been 
pressed with all their forces combined; and General Banks was 
consigned to the defence of Strasbourg. Whereas, if Staunton 
was not won at once, then his whole force should have been 
transferred without delay to aid an aggressive movement from 
Fredericksburg, as General Lee anticipated. Milroy having 
been caught, beaten, and chased, like a hunted beast, through the 
mountains, Blenkcr's division was now hurried to the support of 
him and General Fremont. It arrived just when Jackson had 
left them alone, and it left General Banks just when he was 
about to be assailed by him. Worse than all: as though an 
army of nearly forty thousand men, under Generals McDowell 



TOPOGRAPHY OF THE VALLEY OF VIRGIXIA. 361 

and Augur, were not enough' to protect the road from Freder- 
icksburg to Washington against the embarrassed Confederates, 
Banks detached the best brigades he had, — those of Shields and 
Kimball, containing seven thousand men, — and sent them on 
the 14th of May, by way of Luray ai^d Front Royal, to support 
the forces on the Rappahannock. It was this movement, so 
unaccountable in its folly, which, being observed by General 
Ewell, led him to believe, for a moment, that Banks's whole force 
had gone to assail Richmond from that quarter. This unlucky 
General thus reduced himself to about eighteen* thousand men, 
at the critical moment when the storm was about to burst upon 
him. And he completed the chapter of errors in this, that by 
sending away General Shields he evacuated the New Market 
Gap, and gave to General Jackson the fatal option to assail him 
either in front or in flank. The latter watched all his mistakes 
with a silent intelligence ; and while nothing escaped his eagle 
eye, it never betrayed his purposes by even a sparkle of elation. 
That tlie measures now taken by General Jackson may be 
comprehended, the reader must recall the outline already given 
of the topography of the Valley of Virgmia. From the neigh- 
borhood of Elk Run, General Ewell's recent position, to that of 
Strasbourg, — a distance of fifty miles, — the Valley is divided 
by the Masanuttin, a high and precipitous mountain, parallel to 
the Blue Ridge, which, at both its ends, terminates suddenly in 
lofty promontories dominating the plains. The valley between 
it and the Blue Ridge is more narrow and rugged than that west 
of it ,' but it is watered throughout its whole length by the South 
Shenandoah, and gives space enough for the fertile and populous 
county of Page, with its seat of justice at the village of Luray. 
One good road only comiects this subordinate valley laterally 
with the main Valley — the turnpike across New IMarket Gap. 
But, longitudinally, the county of Page is traversed hj several 

46 



362 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

excellent highways, parallel to the general course of its river 
and mountain barriers. Just "west of the base of the New 
Jltirket Gap is seated the village of that name, upon the great 
Valley Turnpike, and in the midst of a smiling champaign. The 
force which occupied this Gap, and commanded this village, was, 
in a sense, master of both valleys. This was the position which 
Banks deserted without cause, when he detached General Shields 
to Eastern Virginia. As the traveller proceeds northeast down 
the county of Page, he enters the county of Warren, lying just 
where the lesser valley merges itself again in the greater. The 
north fork of the Shenandoah River, which coasts the western 
base of the Masanuttin Mountain, turns eastward around its 
northern end from the neighborhood of Strasbourg, and meets 
the south fork emerging from the other valle}', near Front Royal, 
the seat of justice of Warren county. The excellent paved road 
from tlii^ village to Winchester leads by a course of eighteen 
miles, across both branches of the river, just above their union, 
and through a country of gentle hills, farms, and woodlands, 
converging towards the great Valley Turnpike as it approaches 
the town. 

When Shields e\-acuatcd New Market, ,Colonel Ashby advanced 
his quarters to it, and extended his pickets to the neighborhood 
of Strasbourg, where he closed the whole breadth of the great 
Valley, there much contracted, by a cordon of sentries. Every 
movement above was thus screened effectually from the observa- 
tion of General Banks. General Jackson, leaving Mossy Creek 
Monday, the 19th of IMay, proceeded by two marches, to the 
neighborhood of New Market. He there met the fine brigade 
of General Richard Taylor, which had marched from Elk Run 
valley by the Western side of the Masanuttin Mountain. On 
Wednesday, tlic 21st he crossed the New Market Gap, and in 
the neighborhood of Lura}', completed his union with the 



VALLEY OP THE SHENANDOAH. 



3G3 




VALLEY OF THE SHEWAIMDOAH. 



3G4 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

remainder of General Ewcll's forces. His army now contained 
about sixteen thousand effective men, with forty field guns. It 
"was composed of his own division, embracing the brigades of 
Wmder, Campbell, and Taliaferro, of General Ewell's division, 
which included the brigades of Taylor, Trimble, Elzey, and 
Stewart, and the cavalry regiments of Ashby, Munford, and 
Flournoy, with eight batteries of artillery. At Mossy Creek, he 
had been met by Brigadier- General George H. Stewart, a native 
of Maryland, whom the Confederate Government had just com- 
missioned, and charged with the task of assembling all the 
soldiers from that State into one Cor])s, to be called The Mary- 
land Line. To begin this work. General Jackson at once 
assigned to his command the First Maryland regiment of 
Colonel Bradley T. Johnson, and the Brockenborough Battery, 
which was manned chiefly by citizens of Baltimore, as the 
nucleus of a brigade. 

He had determined to march by Luray and Front Eoyal, in 
order to avoid the necessity of attacking Banks in his strong 
fortifications. This route offered other advantages: it placed 
him between his enemy and Eastern Virginia, whither General 
Lee feared he was moving : it enabled him to conceal his march 
from Banks more effectually, until he was fairly upon his flank : 
and it ensured the issuing of that General from his entrenched 
position in order to save his communications. Leaving the 
picket line of Ashby in Banks's /ront, he marched with all his 
other forces towards Front Royal: where, he was aware, a 
Federal detachment of unknown force was stationed. The 
advance of the army, consisting of the First Maryland regi- 
ment and the battalion of Major Wheat from Taylor's brigade, 
under the command of General Stewart, reached the village about 
two o'clock P. M., on Friday, May 23d. They had been ordered 
to diverge from the main road which enters the village from the 



THE FEDERALISTS SURPEISBD. 365 

south, into a rugged pathway across the hills, which led them 
into another road descending into the village from the mountains 
on the east. The surprise of the Federalists was complete, and 
it Avas evident that the first news they received of the presence 
of a hostile army, was the volley fired by Stewart into their 
picket, a mile from the village. Yet they showed themselves 
prepared to make a spirited resistance. Their advance was 
speedily driven through the town, with the loss of some prison- 
ers, when their main force took up a position upon a command- 
ing height on the side next Winchester, overlooking the village, 
and the approach of the Confederates from the opposite side. 
From this hill they cannonaded the troops as • they approached, 
but without efiect. The commands of Colonel Johnson and 
Major Wheat, deployed q,s skirmishers, with a company of 
Cavalry accompanying them, dashed through the streets, and 
across the fields in front, with impetuosity,- while General 
Jackson ordered Taylor's Louisiana brigade to support them 
by a movement on the left flank, through a wood which lay on 
that side of the village. Before this effort could be completed, 
however, the gallant skirmishers had dislodged the enemy, and 
the General galloped forward to the height they had just occu- 
pied. On the nearer side of ■ the South Shenandoah, which 
flowed just beyond this hill, was the enemy's camp, pitched in a 
charming meadow along the water-side, but now wrapped in 
flames, and sending up volumes of smoke to the skies, while 
under its cover, their whole infantry was marching, in excellent 
order, up the road which obliquely ascended from the other 
bank, every rank distinctly displayed to view. Their guns 
were again posted on the rival height to that on which Jackson 
stood, far above the infantry, prepared to protect its retreat. 
As the General beheld this picture, he was seized with uncon- 
trollable eagerness and impatience, and exclaimed : " Oh, what 



366 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSQN. 

an opportunity for artillery! Oh, that my guns were here!" 
Then turning almost fiercely to tlie only aid who accompanied 
him, he commanded him to hasten to the rear, and "order up 
every rifled gun, and every brigade in the army." Some guns 
were, after a little, brought up; but the enemy had meantime 
passed the crest of the ridge, and the pursuit was resumed ; the 
General riding among the skirmishers and urging them on. 

Here occurred a striking effect of a vicious usage, which it 
was the honor of General Lee to banish from the 'armies in 
Virginia. This was the cusLom of temporarily attaching to the 
staff of a General commanding a division or an army, a com- 
pany of cavalry to do the work of orderlies and courioj\s. By 
this clumsy contrivance, the organization of the cavalry regi- 
ments was marred, the men detacljed were deprived of all 
opportunity for drill, and the General had no evidence what- 
ever of their special fitness for the responsible service assigned 
them. Nay, the Colonel of cavalry required to furnish them, 
was most likely to select the company least serviceable to him 
by reason of deficient equipments, or inexperience. At the 
time of the . combat of Front Royal, the duty of couriers was 
performed for General Jackson, by a detachment from one of 
Colonel Ashby's undisciplined companies, of whom many were 
raw youths just recruited, and never under fire. As soon as 
the first Federal picket was driven in, and free access to the 
village won, orders were despatched to the rear brigades, to 
avoid the laborious and circuitous route taken by the advance, 
and to pursue the direct highway to the town, a level tract of 
three miles, in place of a precipitous one of seven or eight. 
The panic-struck boy, by whom the orders were sent, thought 
of nothing but to liidc himself from the dreadful sound of the 
cannon, and was seen no more. When General Jackson sent 
orders to tlie artillery and rear brigades to hurry to the pursuit, 



THE FEDERALS OVERTAKEN. 367 

instead of being found near at liand, upon the direct road, they 
were at length overtaken, toiling over the hills of the useless 
circuit, spent with the protracted march ; for they had received 
no instructions, and had no other guide than the footprints of 
those Vv^ho preceded them. Thus night overtook them by the 
thne they reached the village ; and they lay down to rest, instead 
of pursuing the enem}'. This unfortunate incident taught (lie 
necessity of a picked company of orderlies, selected for their in- 
telligence and courage, permanently attached to head-quarters, 
and owning no subordination to any other than the General and 
his staiT. Such is the usage now prevalent in the Confederate 
armies. 

But on this occasion the enemy did not escape through this 
accident. Li the forenoon. Colonel Asliby and Colonel Flournoy 
had been detached with all the cavalry except a company or two, 
to cross the south fork of the Shenandoah at McCoy's Ford, above 
the position of the Federalists, for the purpose of destroying the 
telegraphic and railroad communicatic^ns between Front Royal 
and Strasbourg, a.nd of preventing the passage of reinforcements 
or fugitives between the two posts. Colonel Flournoy, with liis 
own and Colonel Munford's regiments, kept a short distance west 
of the river, rind having executed his orders, now appeared upon 
the Winchester road, in the most timely manner, to join in the 
pursuit. At the north fork of the Shenandoah, tlic retreating 
Federalists made an abortive attempt to burn the bridge. Before 
they could fully accomplish this purpose the Confederates were 
upon tiiem and extinguished the flames, but not until they had 
made one span of the bridge impassable for horsemen. Colonel 
Flournoy, liowever, accompanied by the General, with difficulty 
passed four companies of his own regiment across the river, and 
ordering the remainder to follow, hurried in pursuit. The Fed- 
erals were overtaken near a little hamlet named Cedarviile, five 



368 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

miles from Front Royal, where their -whole force, consisting of a 
section of artillerj'-, two companies of cavalry, two companies of 
Pennsylvania infantrj^, and the Ist Maryland regiment of Federal 
infantry, now placed themselves in order of battle to stand at 
bay. General Jackson no sooner saw them than he gave the 
order to charge with a voice and air whose peremptory determma- 
tion was communicated to the whole party. Colonel Flournoy 
instantly hurled his forces in column against the enemy, and 
broke their centre. The}'', however, speedily reformed in an 
orchard on the right of the turnpike, when a second gallant and 
decisive charge being made against them, their cavalry broke 
and lied, the camioneers abandoned their guns, and the infantry 
thi-ew down their arms, and scattered in utter rout. Other Con- 
federate troops speedily arriving, the fields and woods Avcre 
gleaned, and nearly the whole opposing force was killed or cap- 
tured. The result was, the possession of about seven hundred 
prisoners, iuunense stores, and two fine ten-pounder rifle guns. 
The loss of the patriots, in the combat and pursuit, was twenty- 
six killed and wounded. 

Thus, two hundred and fifty men were taught, by the dash 
and genius of Jackson, to destroy a force of four times their 
number. His quick eye estimated aright the discouragement of 
the enemy, and their wavering temper. Infusing his own spirit 
into the men, he struck the hesitating foe at tlie decisive moment, 
and shattered them. A glorious share of the- credit is also due 
to the officers and men of the detachment. General Jackson 
declared with emphasis to his staff, that he had never, in all his 
experience of warfare, seen a cavalry charge executed with such 
efficiency and gallantry ; commendation, which, coming from his 
guarded and sober lips, was decided enough to satisfy every 
heart. 

While these occurrences were in progress. Colonel Ashby, after 



BAXKS'S COMMUNICATIONS COMMANDED. 369 

crossing at McCoy's ford, inclined still farther to the west, so as 
to skirt the northern base of the Masanufctin Mountain. His 
route led him to Buckton, the intermediate station of the rail- 
road, between Front Royal and Strasbourg, where he foimd a 
body of the enemy posted as a guard, behind the railroad em- 
bankment, and in a store-house or barn of logs, which afforded 
them seciue protection from his fire. Dismounting his men, he led 
them in person against the Federals, and speedily dispersed them. 
The track of the road was then effectually destroyed, so as to 
prevent the passage of trains. But in tliis hazardous onset, 
several of his soldiers were lost, and among them, Ms two best 
captains, Fletcher and Sheetz. The latter especially, although 
the year before but a comely youth taken from the farm of his 
father, had already shown himself a man of no common mark, 
pollectmg a company of youths like himself in the valleys of 
Hampshire, he had armed them wholly from the spoils of the 
enemy, and without any other military knowledge than the intui- 
tions of his own good sense, had drilled and organized them into 
an efficient body. He speedily became a famous partisan and 
scout, the terror of the invaders, and the right hand of his 
Colonel. Sheetz was ever next the enemy; if pursuing, in com- 
mand of the advanced guard ; or if retreating, closing the rear ; 
and Jackson had learned to rely implicitly upon his intelligence ; 
for his courage, enterprise, sobriety of mind, and honesty, assured 
the authenticity of all his reports. 

The skirmishers of General Ewell had now penetrated within 
four miles of Winchester, and the whole Confederate arm}^, col- 
lected along the turnpike leading from Front Royal to that place, 
commanded Banks's communications, by numerous easy ap- 
proaches. On the morning of Saturday, May 24-th, that ill- 
starred General, who was beaten before he fought, had only thf ee 
practicable expedients. One was to retreat to the Potomac by 

47 



370 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

the Winclicstcr road: anotlicr to defend himself at Strasbourg: 
the other, to avail himself of the Confederate advance on the 
former town to pass tlicir rear at Front Royal, and so seek a 
refuge towards Manassa's Junction and Alexandria. But he was 
now in the clutches of a master, who had his wary eye upon 
every contingency. Jackson determined to move the body of his 
army ncitlier to Strasbourg nor to Winchester, but to Middle- 
town, a village upon the great Winchester road, five or six miles 
from Strasbourg, and thirteen from the latter place. General 
Ewell, with Trimble's brigade, the 1st Maryland regiment, and 
the batteries of Brockenborough iind Courtney, was directed to 
pursue his movement upon Winchester by the Front Royal road, 
observing appearances of the enemy's retreat, and prepared to 
strike him in flanlc. Brigadier-General Stewart, in temporary 
command of the cavalry regiments of Munford and Flournoy, 
was directed to strike the Winchester road at the village of New- 
town, nine miles from that town, with directions to observe the 
movements of the enemy at tliat point. General Jackson him- 
self, with all the remainder of the army, marched by a cross road 
from Cedarville towards Middletown. Colonel Ashby's cavalry 
was in front, supported by Chew's battery, and two rifled guns 
from the fajnous battery of Pendleton, now* commanded by Cap- 
tain Poague. Next followed the brigade of Taylor, and the 
remainder of the infantry. Colonel Ashby kept his scouts on 
his left extended to the railroad, so as to note any signs of a 
movement towards Front Royal. All the detachments of the 
army were in easy communication; and whether the enemy 
attempted to make a stand at Strasbourg, at Winchester, or 
at any intermediate point, the whole force could be rapidly con- 
centrated against him. Before the main body was fairly in 
motion, Brigadier-General Stewart had already sent news of his 
arrival at Newtown, where lie captured a number of ambulances, 



STRIKES THE ESTREATING ARMY. 371 

with prisoners and medical stores, and found evident signs of a 
general retreat upon Winchester. 

General Jackson now advanced upon Middletown, confident 
that his first surmise would be confirmed, and that he should 
strike the retreating armj upon the march. Plalf-way between 
that pLace and Middletown, his advance was confronted by a 
body of Federal cavalry, e\"idently sent to observe him. Cap- 
tain Poague's section of artillery being then in front, the General 
ordered him instantly to gallop forward, take a position at short 
range, and fii'e into them. This was done with perfect success, 
and the detachment scattered;' which was a novel instance of a 
charge effected by field artillery. "When the little village of 
Midclletown came in view, across the broad and level fields, the 
highway passing through it, at right angles to the direction of 
General Jackson's approach, was seen canopied with a vast 
cloud of gray dust, and crowded beneath, as far as the eye 
could reach, with a column of troops. At the sight, .the artillery 
dashed forward in a gallop for a rising ground, whence to tear 
their ranks with shell. Asliby swooped down upon the right 
like an eagle ; cut through their path, and arrested their escape 
on that side } while General Taylor throwing his front regiment 
into line, advanced at a double quick to the centre of the village, 
his men cheering and pouring a terrific volley into the confused 
mass which filled the street. Never did a host receive a more 
mortal thrust. In one moment, the way was encumbered with 
dying horses and men ; and at every fierce volley, the troopers 
seemed to melt by scores from their saddles ; while the frantic, 
riderless horses, rushed up and down, trampling the wounded 
wretches into the dust. But the astute cowardice of the Fed- 
erals, made the real carnage far less than the apparent ; they 
fell from their horses before they were struck, and were found, 
when the victors leaped into the road, squat behind the stone 



372 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

fences which bordered it, in long and crowded lines, where they 
all suiTcndered at the first challenge. Among the remainder of 
the Federal cavalry, the wildest confusion ensued, and they scat- 
tered in various directions. Two hundred prisoners and horses 
with then- equipments, remained in the hands of the Confed- 
erates at this spot. But it did not yet appear what part of the 
retreating army was above, and what below, the point of assault. 
As soon as the bullets ceased to fly, the astonished citizens 
gathered aroimd ; and when they saw the miserable, begrimed, 
and bloody wreck of what had just been a proud regiment of 
Vermont cavaby, they exclaimed with uplifted hands ; " Behold 
the righteous judgment of God ; for these are the miscreants who 
have been most forward to plunder, insult, and oppress us!" 
By some of them, General Jackson was informed, that dense 
columns of infantry, trains of artillery, and long lines of baggage- 
wagons, had been passing from Strasbourg since early morning. 
Many wagons were seen disappearing in the distance towards 
Winchester, and Colonel Ashby, with his cavalry, some artillery, 
and a supporting infantry force from Taylor's brigade, was sent 
in pursuit. But a few moments elapsed before the Federal artil- 
lery, which had been cut off with the rear of their army, began 
to shell the village fi^om the direction of Strasbourg. General 
Jackson, regarding this as an indication of a purpose to cut a 
way for retreat through his forces, immediately formed Ta3-lor's 
brigade south of the village, and advanced it, with a few guns, to 
iiicct their attempt. The brigade of Colonel Campbell soon after 
arriving, was brought up to support it. But the enemy's courage 
was not adequate to so bold an exploit ; the cannonade was only 
tentative; and, after a sliort skirmish, a column of flame and 
smoke arising from the valley of Cedar Creek told that they had 
fired the bridge over that stream, in order to protect themselves 
from attack. This fragment of the broken army, which was 



PURSUIT TO WINCHESTER. 373 

probably small ia, niimbcrS; finally fled westward ; and either 
took refuge with General Fremont in the valley of the South 
Branch, or made its way, piecemeal, to the Potomac, along the 
base of the Great North Mountain. A large amount of baggage 
fell into the hands of the victors at the scene of tb's combat; 
entire regiments, apparently in line of battle, hav'ag laid down 
their knapsacks, and abandoned them. 

General Jackson was now convinced that the 'arger game was 
in the direction of Winchester, and returned wich his whole force 
to pursue it. The Stonewall Brigade, which had aiow come up, 
took the front, and the whole army advanced towards Newtown. 
The deserted wagon-train of the enemy was found standing, in 
many cases with the horses attached, and occupied the road for 
a mile. Upon approaching Newtown, the General was disap- 
pointed to find his artillery arrested, and wholly unsupported by 
the cavalry ; while the enemy, taking heart from the respite, had 
placed two batteries in position on the left and right of this 
village, and again showed a determiijed front. Nearly the whole 
of Colonel Ashby's cavalry present with him, with a part of the 
infantry under his command, had. disgracefully turned aside to 
pillage ; so that their gallant commander was compelled to arrest 
the pursuit. Indeed, the firing had not ceased, in the first onset 
upon the Federal cavalry at Middletown, before some of Ashby's 
men might have been seen, with a quickness more suitable to 
horse-thieves than to soldie^rs, breaking from their ranks, seizing 
each two oi' three of the captured horses, and making off across 
the fields. Nor did these men pause until they had carried their 
illegal booty to their homes, which were, in some instances, at 
the distance of one or two days' journey. That such extreme 
disorders could occur, arid that they could be passed over without 
a bloody punishment, r-eveals the curious inefficiency of officers 
in the volunteer Confederate army. 



374 LIFE OF LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSON. 

The rifled guns of Captain Poaguc were immediately placed 
in position upon arriving near Newtown, on an opposing emi- 
nence, and replied to tlic Federal battery upon the right of the 
village with effect ; but it was sunset before they were dislodged, 
and the pursuit resumed. The enemy had improved this pause to 
set fire to a Argc part of their train containing valuable stores ; 
and, as the aimy advanced, the gathering darkness was illumi- 
nated for a mi*^ by blazing wagons and pontoon boats ; while 
blackened heaps ^of rice, beef, and bread, intermingled with the 
bands and bars of glowing iron, showed where carriages laden 
with these stores had been consumed. 

General Jackson's perfect knowledge of the ground surround- 
ing Winchester, suggested to him the fear that the Federalists 
would occupy the range of hills to the left of the turnpike and 
southwest of the town, so as to command his approaches. lie 
therefore determined to press them all night, in the hope of 
seizing the contested heights during the darkness. Without a 
moment's pause for food or sleep, the army marched forward in 
perfect order, some of the bri'gades enlivening their fatigues fi'om 
time to time with martial m^sic, while ringing cheers passed, 
like a wave, down the column \<3or four miles, until their sound 
was lost in the distance. The lai^t time Jackson's division had 
passed over this road, they were miaking their slow and stubborn 
retreat from the bloody field of KeA'nstown ; and they were now 
eager to wipe out the disgrace of tJiat check. The night was 
calm, but dark. All night long, the (G-eneral rode at the front, 
amidst a little advanced guard of ca\ralry, seeldng the enemy's 
bleeding haunches with the pertinacity 1 of a blood-hound. Again 
and again he fell, with his escort, into jumbuscades of thcii* rifle- 
men, posted behind the stone fences, \^ndi here line the road 
almost continuously. Suddenly the i^rc appeared, danchig 
along the top of the wall, accompanied Ivy the sharp explosion 



A NIGHT COMBAT. 375 

of the rifles, aad tlie bullets came liissing up the road. The 
&st of these surprises occurred soon after the burning wagons 
were passed. No sooner had the fire begun, than the General, 
sceino' his escort draw rein and waver, cried in a command- 
ing tone: "Charge them! Charge them!" Thej advanced- 
unsteadily a little space, and then, at a second volley, turned 
and fled past him, leaving him in the road with his staff alone. 
But the enemy, equally timid, also retired, seemingly satisfied 
with their eflbrt. The conduct of these troopers filled Jackson 
with towering indignation ; and turning to the officer next him, 
he exclaimed: "Shameful!' Did you see anybody struck, sir? 
Did you see anybody struck ? Surely they need not have run, 
at least until they were hurt !" Skirmishers from the 33d Vir- 
ginia infantry of Colonel Neff, were now tin-own into the fields 
right and left of the turnpike, and advancing abreast with the 
head of the column, protected it for a time from similar insults. 
But as it approached Barton's Mills, five miles from Winchester, 
the enemy, posted on both sides of the road, again received it 
Trith so severe a fii"e, tliat the cavalry advance retired precipi- 
tately out of it, carrying the General and his attendants along 
with them, and riding down several cannoneers, who had been 
brought up to their support. So pertinacious was the stand of 
the Federalists here, the 27th, 2nd, and 5th Virginia regiments 
were brought up, and the affair grew to the dimensions of a 
night-combat, before they gave way. A similar skirmish oc- 
curred at Kernstown also, in which a few of the enemy were 
killed and captured. The army was now not far from its goal ; 
and the General, commanding the skirmishers to continue a 
cautious advance, caused the remainder to halt, and lie down 
upon the road-side, for an hour's sleep. He himself, without a 
cloak to protect liim from the chilling dews, stood sentry at the 
head of the column, listening to every sound from the front. 



376 LIFE OP LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSON. 

Meanwhile, tlic wearied skii^mishers pressed on, with a patient 
endurance beyond all praise, drenched with the dews, wading 
through the rank fields of clover and wheat, and stumbling 
across ditches, until their tired limbs would "scarcely obey their 
wills. When the early dawn came to their relief, the heights 
commanding Winchester were in sight, and against the faint 
blush of the morning sky the figures of the Federal skirmishers 
upon the crest were distinctly relieved. The tired Confederates 
having rested a short time. General Jackson, in a quiet under- 
tone, gave the word to march, which was passed down the 
column ; and the host rismg from itS short sleep, chill and Btiff 
with the cold night-damps, advanced to battle. 

The town of Winchester is seated upon ground almost level ; 
and such also is the surface south and east of it, through which 
the great roads from Strasbourg and Front-Royal approach. 
The former, especially, passes through smooth fields and meadows, 
by a smiling suburb and mill-house, a mile from the town ; after 
which it surmounts a gentle ascent, and enters the street. But 
toward the southwest, a cluster of beautiful hills projects itself 
for a mile toward the left, commanding the town, the turnpike, 
and the adjacent country. They were then enclosed with fences 
of wood or stone, and covered with luxuriant clover and pastur- 
age, with here and there a forest-grove crowning the eminences 
farthest west. Why the enemy did not post their powerful 
artillery upon the foremost of tlicsa. heights, supported by their 
main force, can only be explained by that infatuation which 
possessed them, by the will of God, thi'oughout these events. 
When General Jackson arrived near them at early dawn, with 
the main column, he found tliera occupied by a skirmish line 
only. After a careful examination of a few minutes, he ordered 
General Winder to bring forward the Stonewall Brigade ; which, 
forming in line of battle with the 5th Virginia on the right, 



EECONNOITRES THE ENEMY 'S POSITION. 377 

advanced, and speedily dislodged tlie enemy from the first line 
of eminences. The General immediately advanced a strong 
detachment of artillery, composed of the batteries of Poague, 
Carpenter and CutshaTV, and posted them advantageously just 
behind the crests of the hill. The enemy's main force now dis- 
closed itself, occuppng a convex line upon the high grounds, 
south, and southwest of the town; and while the Stonewall 
Brigade, with that of Colonel John A. Campbell, were disposed 
as supports to the batteries ; a fierce cannonade, intermingled 
with a sharp, rattling fire of riflemen, gxeeted the rising sun. 
The May dews, exlialed by his beams, wrapped a part of the 
landscape in a silvery veil, into which the smoke of the artillery 
melted away. Just at this moment, General Jackson rode for- 
ward, followed by two field officers, Colonel Campbell and 
another, to the very crest of the hill, and amidst a perfect 
shower of balls, reconnoitred the whole position. Both the 
officers beside him were speedily wounded, but he sat calmly 
upon his horse, until he had satisfied himself concerning the 
enemy's dispositions. He saw them posting another battery 
upon an eminence far to his left, whenpe they hoped to enfilade 
the ground occupied by the guns of Poague ; and, nearer to his 
left front, a body of riflemen were just seizing a position 
behind an oblique stone fence, whence they poured a galling 
fixe upon the gunners, and struck down many men and horses. 
Here this gallant battery stood its ground, sometimes almost 
silenced, yet never yielding an inch. After a time, by direc- 
tion of General Winder, they changed their front to the left, 
so as to present a more successful face to their adversaries; 
and while a part of their guns replied to the opposing bat- 
tery, the remainder shattered the stone fence which sheltered the 
Federal infantry, with solid shot, and raked it with canister. 
Carpenter and Catshaw also kept up so spirited a contest with 

43 



378 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON'. 

the Latteries in tlic direction of the town, as to silence their fire. 
General Jackson was hard to be convinced that the enemy would 
be so foolish as to yield the contest, without an attempt to drive 
his artillery from this vital position, and to occupy it with their 
own. At this stage of the battle, he rode up to Colonel NefF, of 
the o3d Virginia, supporting the battery of . Carpenter, and after 
ordering the latter not to slacken his fire, said to the former ; 
" Colonel, ' where is your regiment j)Osted?" "Here," he 
replied ; " the right masked in this depression of ground, and 
the left behind that fence." Said the General, " I expect the 
enemy to bring artillery to this hill ; and they must not do it ! 
do you understand me, sir ! They must not do it ! Keep a good 
look out ; and your men well in hand ; and if they attempt to 
come, charge them with the bayonet; and seize their guns: 
Clanq) them, sir, on the spot." As he gave this ord-er, his 
clenched hand and strident voice declared the energy of his 
fiery will, in such sort as to make the blood of every beholder 
tingle. 

But the narrative must pause here, to return to the movements 
of General Ewell. During the previous evening, he had pressed 
the enemy back from the direction of Front Royal, until his 
advanced regiment, the 21st North Carolina, Colonel Ku'kland, 
was within two miles of Winchester. Here he rested his 
advance at 10 o'clock P. M., and his command slept upon their 
arms. At dawn he moved simultaneously with General Jackson, 
and the first guns of Carpenter were answered from the east, 
by those of his batteries. Ho advanced his left. Colonel 
Kirkland still in front, until he was met by a fire of musketry 
from the enemy's line, posted behind a stone fence, so destructive 
that the field ofiiccrs were all wounded, and the gallant 
regiment compelled to recoil. This check was speedily retrieved 
bv the 21st "Georgia regiment, which in turn drove the enemy's 



CRISIS OF THE CATTLE. 379 

infantry from their cover. But General Ewell, upon the 
suggestion of Brigadier-G-eneral Trimble, was convinced that 
his better policy would be to move by his right. Bringing the 
remainder of his regiments forward, he executed this movement, 
and the enemy began at once to give way from his front. 

The battle had now reached a stage which General Jackson 
perceived to be critical ; the hour for striking the final blow had 
arrived. The enemy were evidently moving, by a still wider 
circuit, towards the wooded heights which commanded his 
extreme left. He now sent for the fine brigade of General 
Taylor, which was at the head of the column of reserve in 
the rear of the mill-house. Before the messenger could briu<»- 
it up, his eagerness overcame him, and' he was seen ridino- 
rapidly to meet it. Conducting it by a hollow way, around the 
rear of his centre, ho directed its rapid formation in line of 
battle, with the left regiments thrown forward to the westward 
of the enemy's position. Under a shower of shells and rifle- 
balls, this magnificent body of troops wheeled from column into 
line, with the accuracy and readiness of a parade. As soon 
as General Jackson saw them in motion in the desired direction 
he galloped along the rear of his line toward the centre, giviufj- 
the word for a general advance. When ho reached the hill 
occupied by the battery of Carpenter, where he had so exposed 
himself at the beginning, he mounted it again, with an air of 
eager caution, peering like a deer-stalker over its summit, as 
soon as his eyes reached its level. His first glance was 
suiSacient ; setting spurs to his horse, he bounded upon the crest, 
and shouted to the officers near him: "Forward, after the 
enemy !" No more inspiring sight ever greeted the eyes of a 
victorious captain. Far to the east, the advancing lines of 
Ewell rolled forward, concealed in waves of white smoke, from 
thcii' volleys of musketry, and were rapidly overpassmg the 



380 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

suburbs of the town. On the West, the long and glittering 
lines of Taylor, after one thundering discharge, were sweeping 
at a bayonet charge up the reverse of the hills, with irresistible 
momentum. Nearer the General, came the Stonewall Brigade, 
with the gallant 23d Virginia, who sprung from their lairs, and 
rushed panting down the hill-sides. Between him and the town 
the enemy w^ero everywhere breaking away from the walls and 
fences where they had sheltered themselves, at first with some 
semblance of order, but then dissolving into a vast confusion, in 
which the infantry, mounted officers, and artillery crowded and 
surged toward the streets. But they found neither shelter nor 
respite there ; the eager Confederates were too close upon them 
to allow time for any arrangements for defence. For a few 
moments, pursuers and pursued were swallowed from view, and 
the rout roared tlu'ough every street, with rattling rifle-shots, 
and ringing cheers of the victors, until it disgorged itself upon 
the commons north of the town. The General, with his face 
inflamed with towering passion and triumph, galloped amidst 
the foremost pursuers, and urged them upon the enemy. The 
sidewalks and doorways were thronged with children, women, 
and old men, who rushed out, regardless of the balls, to hail 
the conquerors. Of these, some ran in among the horses, as 
though to embrace the knees of their deliverers ; many were 
wildly waving their arms or handkerchiefs, and screaming their 
welcome in cheers and blessings, while not a few of the more 
thoughtful were seen, standing upon their doorsteps, with their 
solemn faces bathed in tears, and spreading forth their hands 
to heaven, in adoration. To complete the thrilling scene, two 
great buildings, in different places, were vomiting volumes of 
flame and smoke, which threatened to involve all in one common 
ruin ; for the enemy, in cowardly spite, lighted them, and left 
them in flames in the midst of the town. But not one of tho 



ABSENCE OP CAVALRY. 381 

endangered citizens sought to arrest any pursuing soldier for 
this ; and after tlie first frenzy of tlieir joy was passed, the old 
men and the females set to, and extinguished the fires. Delicate 
women were seen bringing water, and rushing into the burning 
building, stored with the ammunition of the enemy, to drag out 
the Federal sick and wounded, who had been left there by their 
comrades, to be overwhelmed in the explosion which they 
expected to follow. 

When General Jackson issued into the open ground again at 
the Martinsburg Turnpike, all the fields, which the depredations 
of the enemy had converted into a waste denuded of fences and 
crops, were dark with a confused multitude of fugitives, utterly 
without order or thought of resistance. From the head of every 
street, eager columns of Confederates were pouring, and deploy- 
ing without awaiting the commands of their officers, into an 
irregular line, in order to fire upon the retreating mass. As 
this surged wildly away it left scattered over the common its 
human wrecks, in the shape of dead and dying, intermingled 
with laiapsacks, arms, and bundles of stolen goods. Upon 
glancing around this picture, the General exclaimed; "Never 
was there such a chance for cavalry ; oh that my cavahy were 
in place ! " When an ofScer near him remarked that the best 
substitute for a cavalry pursuit would be the fire of the field 
artillery, he replied ; " Yes ; go back and order up the nearest 
batteries you find." After despatching this order, he sent another 
member of his staflF, with the characteristic command, " to order 
every battery and every brigade forward to the Potomac." In 
his official report he says ; " Never have I seen an opportunity 
when it was in the power of the cavalry, to reap a richer harvest 
of the fruits of victory." And again ; " There is good reason 
for believing that, had the cavalry played its part in tliis pursuit 
as well as the four companies under Colonel Flournoy, two days 



382 . LIFE OF LIEUL-GEXEKAL JACKSON. 

before, in the pursuit from Front Royal, but a small portion 
of Banks's army would have made its escape to the Potomac." 
The cause of this untimely absence of tlie cavalry may be 
surmised by the reader, as to that part under Colonel Ashby. 
Disorganized by its initial success, it was so scattered that its 
heroic leader could gather but a handful around him on the 
morning of the battle. With these he had undertaken an inde- 
pendent enterprise, to cut off a detachment of Federalists on 
their left ; and passing around the scene of action he joined in 
the pursuit many hours after, at Bunker Hill. The 2d and Gtli 
regiments had been placed under the temporary command 
of Brigadier-General George II. Stewart, of General E well's 
division. As they did not appear after the pursuit had been 
continued for some time. General Jackson sent liis Aide, Captain 
Pendleton, after them. General Stewart replied that he was 
awaiting the orders of General Ewell, under whose immediate 
command he was, and could not move without them. While 
these were obtained, precious time was wasted, and two hours 
elapsed before the two regiments were upon the traces of the 
enemy. That a superior officer, addressing his commands to 
persons under the orders of his inferior, should direct them 
through him, if he is present, is a proper mark of consideration, 
and a means of regularity in governing. But it is a most 
effectual way to rob a commanding general of his command, to 
assume that he may not claim the services of the subordinate 
of his own subordinate, in the absence of the latter ; when, if he 
were present, he could legitimately control him and all under 
him. The utmost which the former could ask, when receiving 
orders without the intervention of his immediate superior, 
would be, that his commanding general should remember to 
explain to that officer the orders thus given in his absence. 
After pursuing for a few miles with infantry and artillery, 



THE AEIIY REPOSES. 383 

General Jackson porceived that tlic interval between his men 
and tlie enemy was continually widening. The warm mid-day 
was now approaching, and since the morning of the previous 
day, the troops had been continually marching or fighting; with- 
out food or rest. Nature could do no more. At every step 
some wearied man was compelled to drop out of the ranks by 
overpowering fatigue. The General therefore ordered the 
infantry to cease their pursuit, and return to the pleasant 
groves of Camp Stevenson, three miles north of Winchester, for 
rest and rations, while the cavahy, which had now arrived, 
assumed the duty of pressing the enemy. This General Stewart 
performed with skill and energy, picking up a number of pris- 
oners, and driving the Federalists through Martinsburg, and 
across the Potomac at Williamsport. General Banks was one 
of the first fugitives to appear at Martinsburg, having deserted 
his army long before the conclusion of the battle. His forces 
were thus driven without pause, and within the space of thirty- 
six hours, a distance of sixty miles. At Martinsburg, enormous 
accumulations of iirmy stores again fell into the victors' hands. 
When the cavalry drove the last of the fugitives across the 
Potomac, a inultitude of helpless blacks were found cowermg 
upon the southern bank, who had been decoyed from Winchester 
and the adjacent country, by the story that Jackson was putting 
to death all the slaves whom he met, upon the charge of frater- 
nizing with the Yankees. Many of these unhappy victims of 
fanaticism, deserted in the hour of alarm by their seducers, 
were cared for, and brought back to their homes, by tlie 
horsemen. 

The remainder of the day was devoted by the army as well 
as their Commander, to repose. The tired men, disencumbered 
of their arms, reclined under the noble groves interspersed 
among their camp, while the famished horses grazed busily upon 



384 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

the rich sward. The thunder of the battles and the shouting of 
the captains \rcre soon followed by a Sabbath stillness, amidst 
which the General slowly rode back to the town. Having pro- 
cured "quarters in the chief hotel, he refused all food, and throw- 
ing himself across a bed upon his breast, booted and spurred, was 
sleeping in a moment, with the healthy quietude of infancy. 

The next day was devoted to a religious rest, in order to pay 
that honor which General Jackson ever delighted to render to 
Almighty God, and to repay the troops, in some sort, for the 
interruptions of the holy day by battle. This pui^pose was an- 
nounced to the troops in the following General order : 

"Within four weeks this army has made long and rapid 
marches, fought six combats and two battles, signally defcatmg 
the enemy in each one, captured several stands of colors, and 
pieces of artillery, with numerous prisoners, and vast medical, 
ordnance, and army stores ; and, finally, driven the boastful host 
which was ravaging our beautiful country, into utter rout. The 
General commanding would warmly express to the officers and 
men under his command, his joy in then* achievements, and his 
thanks for their brilliant gallantry in action and their patient 
obedience under the hardships of forced marches^ often more 
painful to the brave soldier than the dangers of battle. The 
explanation of the severe exertions to which the Commanding 
General called the army, wliich were endured by them with 
such cheerful confidence in him, is now given, in the victory of 
yesterday. He receives tliis proof of their confidence in the 
past with pride and gratitude, and asks only a similar confidence 
in the future. * 

"Bat his chief duty to-day, and that of the army, is, to recog- 
nize devoutly the hand of a protecting Providence in the brilliant 
successes of the last tln-ee days (which have given us the results 
of a great victory without great losses) ; and to make the oblation 



SEIZURE OP sutlers' STORES. 385 

of our thanks to God for his mercies to us and our country, 
ill heartfelt acts of religious "worship. For this purpose the 
troops will remain in camp to-day, suspending as far as practi- 
cable all military exercises ; and the Chaplains of regiments will 
iiold divine service in their several charges at 4 o'clock, P. M. " 

At the appointed hour the General attended public vrorship 
with the 37th Virginia regiment, and presented an edifying 
example of devotion to the men. 

Winchester had been the great resort of Federal sutlers, who 
had impudently occupied many of the finest shops upon its streets, 
and exposed their wares for sale in them. The headlong confu- 
sion of Banks's retreat left them neither means nor time to 
remove their wealth. All was given up to the soldiers, who 
speedily emptied their shelves. It was a strange sight to see the 
rough fellows, who the day before had lacked tlie ration of beef 
and hard bread, regaling themselves with confectionery, sardines, 
and tropical fruits. Their spoils, however, were about to produce 
a serious evil. The stores of clothing captured by the men in 
these shops, and in the baggage of the fugitives, were so enor- 
mous, that in a day the army seemed to be almost metamor- 
phosed. The Confederate grey was rapidly changing into the 
Yankee blue. Had this license been permitted, the purposes of 
discipline would have been disappointed, and the dangers of 
battle multiplied. General Jackson speedily suppressed it by 
this adroit and simple measure. He issued an order that every 
person in Federal uniform should be arrested, and assumed to 
be a prisoner of war going at large improperly, until ho himself 
presented adequate evidence of the contrary. The men of the 
Provost-Marshal had not acted upon this order many hours 
before the army became gi'ey again as rapidly as it had been 
becoming blue. The men either deposited their gay spoils in 
the bottom of their knapsacks, or sent them by the baggage-trains 

49 



386 LIFE OF IJEUT.-GEXER.iL JACKSON. 

wliicli were carrying the captured stores to the rear, and donned 
their T7cll-"worn uniforms again. 

General Jackson -^as not the man to lose the opportunities 
gi'owing out of such a victory by inaction. The use to be made 
of his present successes was dictated by the authorities at Ricli- 
mond ; but it is believed their designs met the full approbation 
of his own judgment. Immediately after the battle of Winchester 
he had sent a trusty officer to the Capital with despatches explain- 
ing his views. The decision of the government was, that he should 
press the enemy at ITarper's Ferry, threaten an invasion of 
])ilaryland, and an assault upon the Federal capital, and thus 
make the most energetic diversion possible, to draw a part of 
the forces of LrClellan and M'Dowell from Richmond. After 
allowing his troops two days of needed rest, the army was moved, 
"Wednesday morning, May 28th, toward Charlestown, by Sum- 
mit Point, General Winder's brigade again in advance. Charles- 
town is a handsome village, the seat of justice of Jefferson 
county, eight miles from Harper's Ferry. When about five miles 
from the former place. General Winder received information 
that the enemy was in possession of it in heavy force. Upon 
being advised of this, General Jackson ordered General Ewell 
with reinforcements to liis support. But General Winder 
resolved not to await theni, and advanced cautiously toward 
Charlestown. As he emerged from the wood, less than a mile 
distant from the town, he discovered the enemy in line of battle 
about fifteen hundred strong, and decided to attack them. Upon 
the appearance of our troops, the enemy opened upon them with 
two pieces of artillery. Carpenter's battery was immediately 
placed in position, with the 33rd Virginia regiment as support; 
and was so admirably served that in twenty minutes the enemy 
retired in great disorder, throwing away their arms and baggage. 
The pursuit was continued rapidly with artillery and infantry to 



EETREATS UPON STRASBOURG. 387 

Hall-towii, a hamlet a couple of miles from tlio Potomac. A sliort 
distance beyond that point. General Winder observing the enemy 
strongly po.stod on Bolivar Heights, and in considerable force, 
concluded that prudence requii'ed him to await his supports; 
and he therefore arrested the pursuit, and returned to the 
vicinity of Charlestown. .- 

On the following day, the main body of the army took posir 
tion near Hall-town, and the 2nd regiment, Yirginia infantry, was 
sent to Loudon heights, with the hope of being able to drive the 
enemy from Harper's Ferry, across the Potomac. But this 
movement was no sooner made, than General Jackson received 
intelligence which imperiously required him to arrest it, and pro- 
vide for his own safety. The Federal Government, awakened 
by its disasters, to a portion of sense f and activity, gave orders 
to General Shields, to move upon General Jackson's communi- 
cations from the Rappahannock, and General Fremont from the 
valley of the South Branch. Both these bodies were now threat- 
ening to close in upon his rear, with a speed which left not a 
moment for delay. At Front Royal, the 12 th Georgia regiment, 
so distinguished for its gallantry at IVrDowell, and previous 
engagements, had been stationed to .watch the approaches of the 
enemy from the east, and to guard the prisoners and valuable 
stores captured there the previous week. Through the indiscre- 
tion of its commander, it was driven from the place, with the loss 
of all the prisoners, and a number of its own members captured ; 
while the stores were only rescued from falling again into the 
hands of the Federalists, by the energy of a Quartermaster, 
who fired the warehouses containing them. Thus a loss of 
three hundred thousand dollars, in provisions and equipments, 
was incurred at the outset. 

In the afternoon of the 30th, the whole army was in motion, 
retreating upon Strasbourg, the point at which it was expected 



388 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

Shields and Fremont would attempt tlicir junction. General 
"Winder was ordered to recall the 2nd regiment from Loudon 
heights, and with the cavalry, to protect the rear of the army. 
On arriving at Winchester, General Jackson learned that the 
approach of the enemy to Strasbourg was bo imminent, that it 
was essential his r(?ar should reach that place by mid-day 
of the 31st, in order to avoid separation from the main body, 
and capture. He, therefore, sent back orders to the Stonewall 
Brigade, not to pause in its march on the 30th, until it passed 
Winchester. It travelled, in fact, from Hall-town, to the neigh- 
borhood of Newtown, a distance of thirty-five miles : and the 
2nd Virginia regiment, which had its steps to retrace from the 
heights beyond the Shenandoah, accomplished a march of more 
than forty miles, without rations. This astonishing effort was 
made also over muddy roads, and amidst continual showers ! The 
next morning the rear-guard arose from their wet bivouac, stiff 
and sore of limb, and completed the march to Strasbourg in the 
forenoon. When they arrived there, they found the army halted 
and awaiting them ; while General Ewell, with his division, 
facing toward the west, was sternly confronting Fremont, and 
offering him gage of battle. The latter had arrived in the 
neigliborhood of Strasbourg, by way of Wardensvillc, and 
issued from the gap of the great north mountain, as though to 
attack the retreating army. But when it stood thus at bay, he 
prudently withdrew, after a desultory skirmish, into the gorge 
fi-om whiiih he had issued. General Jackson now resumed a 
deliberate retreat, with his rear covered by his cavalry ; seeking 
some position in the interior, where he could confront his foes 
without danger to his flanks. 

During the week which embraced these brilliant events, the 
Quartermasters' and Ordnance departments of the ai'my were 
laboriously engaged in collectmg and removing the captm'cd 



THE CAPTURED MEDICAL STORES. 389 

stores. Tli(3 baggage trains of the army, and those captured 
from the enemy were laden with the precious spoils, and sent 
toward Staunton. Every carriage which could be hired or im- 
pressed from the vicinity of Winchester, was also employed ,* and 
yet a vast and unestimatcd mass which could not be removed, 
was consigned to the flames. Only those things which were 
brought safely away will be enumerated. It has been related 
how the soldiers themselves were permitted to dispose of the 
contents of the sutlers' stores. A large part of the army was 
thus equipped with clothing, boots and shoes, blankets, oil cloth 
coverings, and hats. One of the largest storehouses in Winches- 
ter was found filled with medicines, surgical instruments, and 
hospital appliances, of the choicest description. Of these a 
small portion were distributed to the surgeons for the immediate 
wants of their brave men ; and all the remainder were sent to 
Riclunond, where they were found abundant enough to replenish 
the medical stores of the great army. The mercy of Providence 
in this supply, was as manifest as His rebuke of the barbarity 
of the enemy. With an inhum.anity unknown in modern history, 
they had extended the law of blockade to all medicines and 
hospital stores ; hoping thus not only to make the hurts of every 
■"■ounded adversary mortal, (where brave men would have been 
eager to minister to a helpless foe,) but to deprive suffering age, 
womanhood, and infancy of the last succors which the benignity 
of the universal Father has provided for their pangs. This cold 
and malignant design was in part disappointed by the victory of 
Jackson. The stores captured at Winchester not only supplied 
the conquering army, but carried solace and healing to the sick 
and wounded tlu-oughout the approaching campaign of Richmond, 
tn bright contrast with this barbarity of the enemy, stands the 
jiagnanimity of Jackson. Finding a large and well provided 
hospital at Winchester, filled with seven hundred Federal sick 



390 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

and wounded, he ordered tliat notliiug of their stores or medi- 
cines should be removed, and having ministered to the sufferers 
with generous attention during the week they were in his power, 
ho left cverythmg untouched, when Winchester was again evacu- 
ated. The seven hundi'cd enemies were paroled, not to fight 
again until exchanged. 

The 31st of May, the 21st Virginia regiment left Winchester, 
in charge of twenty-thi-ee hundred prisoners of war. The 
whole number of the enemy captm'cd was about thi-ee thousand 
and fifty. One hundred beeves, thirty-four thousand pounds of 
bacon, and great masses of flour, biscuit, and groceries, were 
secured by the Chief Commissary, while the Quartermasters 
removed stores in their department, to the amount of one 
hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. Two hundred 
wagons and ambulances, with a number of horses, which would 
have been very great, but for the rapacity of the Confederate 
cavalry, were also secured. But the most precious acquisition 
was the ordnance stores, containing, besides ammunition, nine 
thousand, thi'ce hundred and fifty small arms, perfectly new, 
and of the most approved patterns. 

These results of the week's campaign were won with small 
expenditure of blood by the patriot army. In all the engage- 
ments, from Front Royal to Strasbourg, sixty-eight men were 
killed, tln-ee hundred and twenty-nine Avcre wounded, and three 
were missing ; making a total loss of four hundred men. The 
Gejieral closed his official narrative with these words : " Whilst 
I liave had to speak of some of our troops in disparaging terms, 
yet it is my gratifying privilege to say of the main body of the 
army, that its officers and men acted in a manner worthy of the 
great cause for which they were contending, and to add that, so 
far as my knowledge extends, the battle of Winchester was, on 
our part, a battle without a straggler." 



INIIABITA^TTS PLUNDERED BY FEDERALS. ' 391 

It was while reposing after his victory at Winchester, that he 
wrote thus to Mrs. Jackson : 

' "Winchester, May 26th, 1862. An ever kind Providence 
Llessed us with success at Front Eoyal on Friday, between 
Strasbourg and Winchester on Saturday, and here with a 

successful engagement yesterday I do not remember 

having ever seen such rejoicing as was manifested by the people 
of Winchester, as our army yesterday passed through the town 
in pursuit of the enemy. The town was nearly frantic with joy. , 
Our entrance into Winchester was one of the most stirrmg 
scenes -of my life. . Such joy as the inhabitants manifested, can- 
not easily be described. The town is greatly improved in its 
loyalty." 

A few days after, while threatening Harper's Ferry, he sent 
messages to the Confederate Government by his zealous 
supporter and assistant, the Hon. Mr. Boteler of the Congress, 
begging for an increase of his force. He pointed out again 
that an assault upon the enemy's territory, indicating danger to 
their capital, was the most ready and certain method to deliver 
Richmond from the approaches of General M'Clellan. " Tell 
them," he said, " that I have now but fifteen thousand effective 
men. If the present opening is improved as it should be, I 
must have forty thousand." But the Government was unable 
to advance these reinforcements, and Divine Providence reserved 
to him the glory of assisting in the deliverance of our capital in 
a more direct manner. 

Tills chapter will be closed with a reference to a fact which 
assists in fixing the seal of infamy upon the Federal Government, 
generals, and armies ; the authorized robberies now begun in the 
valley of Vii-giuia. Not only were the inhabitants plundered 
by the Federal soldiers as they marched tlii'ough the peaceful 
country, but they were systematically robbed of their horses, 

/ 



392 LIFE OP LIEDT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

and other live-stock by General Banks, in his march to and 
from Harrisonburg. This commander officially boasted to his 
Government, .that the results of his conquest had supplied hi.s 
artillery and trains with cnougli of excellent horses, besides 
many other valuable resources. Now none of these were priz'.' 
of war ; for so accomplished a leader Vi^as Jackson, in retreat as 
well as in triumph, that nothing belonging to his army fell into 
his enemy's hands. These horses, and other animals, were 
simply stolen from, tlie rich and peaceful farmers of Rockingham 
and Shenandoah. Here was the beginnmg of a system of 
wholesale robbery, since extended to every part of the Confed- 
erate States which the enemy has reached ! But if the reader 
assigned to General Banks any pre-eminence of crime or infamy, 
above his nation, he would do him injustice. The Federal 
Congress and Executive had already, by formal and unblushing 
legislation, ordained that the war should be a huge piracy, as 
monstrous as the rapacity of any of their lieutenants could 
make it. Under pretexts which could be used by any other 
nation, in any other war, with equal plausibility, to steal any 
species of private property whatever, laws had been passed, 
declaring all tobacco, cotton, and labor of slaves, in the 
Confederate States, or coming thence, to be "contraband of 
war," and liable to confiscation. The true intent of this law 
was to subject these three kinds of property, the most important 
in our country, to systematic theft, and this pm'pose has since 
been most diligently and consistently carried out. 



PORT REPUBLIC. 393 



CHAPTER XIII. 

PORT REPUBLIC. 

It lias been related liow General Jackson assembled his 
army at. Strasbourg before the occupation of that place by 
Fremont, and thus eluded the combination designed by him and 
Shields, in his rear. On the evening of June 1st, ho resumed 
his retreat up the Valley. The object immediately demanding 
his attention was the rescue of his army from its perilous situa- 
tion. The indirect purpose of the campaign was already 
accomplished; his rapid movements and stunning blows had 
neutralized thc'ciiorts of General M'Do-well against Eishmond 
— Banks vi^as driven from Winchester the 25th of May, and the 
Federal authorities were panic-struck by the thought of a victo- 
rious Confederate army, of unknown numbers, breaking into 
Maryland by Harper's Ferry, and seizing Washington City. 
Just at this juncture, M'Clellan had pushed his right wing to a 
point north of Richmond, at Hanover Court House, and within 
a single march of M'Doweli's advanced posts. On the 27th 
of May, the Confederate General Branch was defeated at that 
place with loss, and the fruit of this success was the occupation 
of all the roads, and of the bridges across the waters of the 
Pamunkey, connecting Richmond with Fredericksburg and Gor- 
donsville, by the Federalists. Had the advice of M'Clellan 
been now followed, the result must have been disastrous to 
General Lee, and might well have been ruinous. The Federal 

50 



394 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

commander urged his Government to send General M'Dowell, 
^vith all tlie forces near Manassa's, under Sigcl and Au^r, by 
tlic route thus opened to them, to cflect an immediate junction 
with his riglit wing, to hold permanently these lines of communi- 
cation between Lee and Jackson, and to complete the investment 
of Richmond. Tliese operations, which the Confederates had no 
means to resist, with the addition of the forty thousand troops 
which they would have brought to M'Clcllan's army, already so 
superior in numbers, would have greatly endangered Riclunond 
and its army. But the terror inspired by Jackson caused the 
President to refuse his consent ; he was unwilling to expose his 
Capital to a sudden blow from this ubiquitoiis leader ; and instead 
of sending General McDowell forward, he commanded him to 
retire nearer to Washington. General M'Clcllan was further 
ordered by telegraph, to burn the bridges across the south Pam- 
unkey, won by his recent victory, and by which his reinforcements 
should have joined him, lest the Confederates should move by 
them against Washington! Thus Providence employed the 
movements of General Jackson's little army to paralyze the for- 
ces of Fremont, Banks and McDowell, amounting to eighty 
thousand men, during the critical period of the campaign. It 
is therefore with justice, that his successes in the Valley are 
said to have saved Richmond and Virginia. Yv^hen the small 
means, the trivial losses, and the short time, witli which tliis 
great result was wi'ought, are considered, it will be admitted 
that military genius has never, in any age, accomplished a more 
splendid achievement. It was indeed so brilliant, that the doubt 
has been suggested, whether the mind of Jackson or of any 
other strategist, was prophetic enough to forecast and provide 
for so grand a conclusion, or whether it was the fortunate and 
unforeseen- dispensation of chance, or of Providence. To the 
latter lie delighted to attribute all his success; and he would 



RETEATS UP THE VALLEY TUENPIKE. 395 

have beeii the first to concur in the estimate, whicli made him 
only an humble instrument in the hand of an omniscient Guide, 
who superintended his fallible judgment, overruled the efforts 
of his enemies, and, among the variety of possible effects, con- 
nected his measures with those consequences whicli were most 
beneficial to his country. But while this Christian solution is 
fully admitted, the lionor of General Jackson, as an instrument, 
is vindicated by these facts, that, from the first, lie strongly uKged 
the movements which were at length made, as the surest means 
for these ends, and that he continued steadfastly of the same 
mind amidst all the mutations in others, produced by the fluctu- 
ating appearances of the campaign. The wisdom of his plan 
was seconded by a devotion and energy in action, which gave it 
such success as no other could have commanded. 

A more glorious sequel yet remains to be narrated, in which 
General Jackson extricated himself from his baffled enemies, and 
assisted in crushing the remainder of the Federal forces near 
Richmond. The former of these results was effected at Port 
Eepublic; and to this spot the narrative now leads. When 
General Jackson, on the evening of June 1st, resumed his retreat 
from Strasbourg, he was aware that Shields had been for nearly 
two days at Front Royal. The fact that he had not attempted 
an- immediate junction with Fremont suggested the suspicion that 
he was moving for a point farther upon the rear of the Confed- 
erates, by way of Luray and New Market Gap. To frustrate 
this design. General Jackson now sent a detachment of cavalry to 
burn the White House bridge across the South Shenandoah, by 
which the Luray turnpike passed the stream, and also the 
Columbia bridge, a few miles above it. He knew that Shields 
had no pontoon train, for Banks had been compelled to sacrifice 
it at Newtown ; and the rivers were still too much swollen to be 
forded. Having taken this precaution, he retreated up the 



396 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

Valley turnpike in his usual stubborn and deliberate fashion, 
with his cavalry and Chew's light battery in the rear. It was 
the saying of his soldiers, that his marches were always easy 
when in retreat, but hard when pursuing. This calmness of 
movement not only promoted order, and gave time to bring oS 
his supplies, but wrought an invaluable effect upon the spirits 
of the troops. A hurried march in retiring from the enemy 
suggests insecurity, and ministers a constant excitement to the 
minds of the men akin to panic, and easily converted into it. 
General Jackson's deliberation reassured his army; and they 
never lost confidence or spirit because they were compelled to 
retire for a time. It was by this means that he was enabled 
to preserve the order of his troops equally in retreat and in 
advance. 

General Fremont, having ascertained that the Confederates 
were withdrawing, pursued with spirit; and, after nightfall, a 
portijn of his horse came so near the rear-guard that they were 
challenged by them. They replied, " Ashby's cavalry " ; and, hav- 
mg thus deceived our forces, availed themselves of the advantage 
to charge the Gth regiment of cavalry, which was next tlie rear. 
These were thrown into disorder; and a few of them were 
ridden dowD, and wounded, or captured. Coiifusion was also 
communicated, to some degree, to the 2nd regiment next it ; but 
the commander. Colonel Munford, soon reformed it, gallantly 
charged the enemy, repulsed them, and captured some prisoners. 
On the 2nd of June, the enemy succeeded in taking position where 
theu' artillery was able to cannonade the Confederate rear. The 
cavalry was thrown into disorder by the shells, and fled, carrying 
a part of its supporting battery with them. The Federal cavalry 
now pushed forward to reap the fruits of this success, when 
Ashley displayed that prompt resource and personal daring M^liich 
illustrated his character. Dismounting from his horse, lio 



A DRY EEMARE. 397 

collected a small body of riflemen who were lagging, foot-sore 
and weary, .behind their commands, and posted them in a wood 
near tlic road-side. Awaiting the near approach of the enemy, 
he poured into their ranks so effective a fire that a number of 
saddles were emptied, and a part of the survivors retired in 
confusion. The remainder were carried past by their momentum 
and even broke through the ranks of the rear regiment in a 
brigade of infantry, — that of Colonel Campbell, — commanded 
since his wounding at Winchester by Colonel J. M. Fatten. But 
that officer, filing his next regiment from the road in good order, 
made way for the onset of the enemy, and, as they passed, gave 
them a volley which terminated their audacity. Only one of the 
party returned alive to his comrades, the remainder being all 
killed or captured. Colonel Fatten, while reporting the events 
of the day to the General, at nightfall, remarked that he saw this 
party of foes shot down with regret. He seemed to make no 
note of these words at the time, but pursued his minute inquiries 
into all the particulars of the skii'mish. After tlie official conver- 
sation was ended, he asked : " Colonel, why do you say that you 
saw those Federal soldiers fall with regret ? " It was replied, 
that they exhibited more vigor and courage than anything which 
had been attempted by any part of the Federal army ; and that 
a natural sympathy with brave men led to the wish that, in the 
fortunes of the fight, their lives might have been saved. The . 
General drily remarked : " No ; shoot them all : I do not wish 
them to be brave." It was thus that he was accustomed to indi- 
cate, by a single brief sentence, the cardinal thought of a whole 
chapter of discussion. He meant to suggest reasonings which 
show that such sentiments of chivalrous forbearance, though 
amiable, are erroneous. Courage in the prosecution of a wicked 
attempt does not relieve, but only aggravates, the danger to the 
innocent party assailed, and the guilt of .the assailants. There 



3D 8 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

is, then, a sense in which, the most vigorous arc the most worthy 
of death ; and the interests of those who wage a just defence 
prompt them to visit retribution, first, upon those who arc most 
dangerous. 

The 2nd and Gth regiments of cavalry were now transferred 
from the command of General Stewart, to tliat of Ashby. Wlien 
the latter returned to Winchester the week before, from the pur- 
suit of Banks, he was met by his commission of Brigadier-Gen- 
eral of cavalry; an honor well earned by his arduous and 
important services. He was now raised to that position best 
adapted to his powers. While unsuited for the drudgery of the 
drill and the military police, General Ashby had every quality of 
a brilliant commander in the field. Seconded by diligent and 
able Colonels in his regiments, he would have led his brigade to 
a career of glory surpassing all his previous successes. But 
such a destiny was not in store for him ,• and his sun was now 
about to set in its splendid morning. 

On the 3rd of June, the Confederate army placed the north 
fork of the Shenandoah behind it; and General Ashby was 
entrusted with the duty of burning the bridge by which it 
passed over. Before this task was completed, the Federalists 
appeared on the opposite bank, and a skirmish ensued, in which 
his horse was struck dead, and he himself very narrowly 
escaped. The necessity of replacing tliis bridge, arrested Fre- 
mont for a day, and gave the tired Confederates a respite, which 
they employed in retiring slowly and unmolested, to Harrison- 
burg. A mile south of tliat village. General Jackson left the 
valley road, and turned eastward, towards Port Republic; a 
smaller place upon the south fork of the Shenandoah, and near 
the western base of the Blue Ridge. It was not until the even- 
ing of June Gth, that tlie Federal advance overtook his rear- 
guard, whicli was still within two miles of Harrisonburg, 



FALL OF ASHBY. . 899 

posted at the crest of a wooded ridge, commanding the neigh- 
boring fields. General Ashby, as usual, held the rear ; and the 
di-vision of General Ev/ell was next. In part of the Federal 
army was a New Jersey regiment of cavalry, commanded by 
one of those military adventurers, whose appetite for blood pre- 
sents so monstrous and loathsome a parody upon the virtues of 
the true soldier. A subject of the British crown, and boasting 
of his relationsliip to some noble English house, this person had 
offered his services to the Federal Government, siding with the 
criminal and powerful aggressors, against the heroic and right- 
eous patriots, without one of those pleas of native soil and senti- 
ments, which might rescue his acts from the criminality of naked 
murder. It had been his blustering boast, that at the first 
opportunity, he would deal with the terrible Colonel Asliby ; 
and for this he sought service in this part of the Federal armies. 
His opportunity was now come ; he advanced his regiment to 
the attack, when General Ashby, taking a few companies of his 
command, met them in the open field, and at the first charge, 
routed them, and captured their Colonel with sixty-three of his 
men. The remainder fled into Harrisonburg in headlong panic ; 
and the braggart mercenary found his fitting recompense in a 
long captivity. 

The sound of the firing now brought General Ewell to the 
'rear ; and General Ashby assuring him that the Federal attack 
would be speedily renewed in force, asked for a small body of 
infantry, and proposed a plan, most brilliantly conceived, for 
turning their onset into a defeat. General Ewell entrusted to 
him the 1st Maryland regiment, of Colonel Bradley Johnston, 
and the 58th Virginia, under Colonel Letcher. Ashby disposed 
the Marylanders in the woods, so as to take the Federal advance 
in flank, while he met them in front at the head of the 58th. 
Indicating to General Ewell the dispositions of the enemy, which 



400 i LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

he had exactly anticipated; and his OTrn arrangements to meet 
them, he seemed to the spectators, to be instinct with unwonted 
animation and genius. At this moment, the enemy's infantry 
a:lvanccd; and a fierce comhat began. They, approaching 
taroughthe open fields, had reached a heavy fence of limber; 
\vhence, under the partial cover, they poured destructive volleys 
into the ranks of the 58th regiment. Ashby seeing at a glance 
their disadvantage, galloped to the front, and ordered them to 
charge, and drive the Federals from their vantage- ground. At 
this moment his horse fell; but extricating liimself from the 
dying animal, and leaping to his feet, he saw his men wavering. 
He shouted, " Charge men; for God's sake, charge !" and waved 
his sword ; when a bullet pierced him full in the breast, and he 
fell dead. The regiment took up the command of their dying 
General, and rushed upon the enemy, while the Marylanders 
dashed upon their flank. Thus pressed, the Federals gave way, 
the Confederates occupied the fence, and poured successive vol- 
leys into the fleeing mass, who were fully exposed to them until 
they passed out of musket range. If blood, by comparison so 
vile, could have paid for that of the generous Ashb}', he would 
have been fully avenged. The Lieutenant Colonel commanding 
the foremost Federal regiment, remained a prisoner in the hands 
of the Confederates, and the field was sprinkled over with killed 
and wounded. 

With this repulse, the combat ceased: resulting in a loss to 
the confederates of seventeen killed, and fifty wounded, which fell 
cliiefly on the 58th Virginia. The place where it occurred was 
not the one selected by General Jackson to stand the brunt of a 
general action, and it w*as therefore necessary to remove the 
wounded and the dead at once. The oversight of tliis humane 
task he entrusted to General Ewell. All- the wounded who 
could bear a hasty removal wore set on horses, and carried to a 



CHARACTER OF ASHBY. 401 

place of safety. A fcTV remained whose hurts were too pamful to 
endure the motion ; and of these General Ewell was seen taking 
a tender leave, replenishing their purses from his own, that they 
might be able to purchase things needful for their comfort in 
their captivity, and encouraging them with- words of good cheer. 
The glorious remains of Ashby were carried to Port Republic, 
and prepared for the grave. After all the sad rites were com- 
pleted. General Jackson came to the room where he lay, and 
demanded to see him. They admitted him alone ; he remained 
for a time in silent communion with the dead, and then left him, 
with a solemn and elevated countenance. It requires little use 
of the imagination to suppose that his thoughts were, in part, 
prophetic of a similar scene, where his corpse was to receive the 
homage of all the good and brave. But the duties of the hour 
were too stern to give a longer time to grief. At a subsequent 
day, Ms official report paid this brief but emphatic tribute to 
his companion in arms. 

" In this affair. General Turner Ashby was killed. An official 
report is not an appropriate place for more than a passing 
notice of the distmguished dead ; but the close relation which 
General Ashby bore to my command, for most of the previous 
twelve months, will justify me in saying that, as a partisan officer, 
I never knew his superior. His daring was proverbial, his pow- 
ers of endurance almost incredible, his tone of character heroic, 
and his sagacity almost intuitive in divining the purposes and 
movements of the enemy." 

General Ashby was of a spare and graceful figure, irregular 
features, and swarthy complexion. His hair and beard were 
profuse, and of jetty black, wliile his eye was a clear, piercing 
gTay. Accomplished from his youth in all the feats of horse- 
manship and wood-craft, he was already trained for irregular 
warfare, before he girded on his sword. His private life had 
51 



402 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

been marked by pui'itj, generosity, and a cliivalrous spirit ; and 
the modest dignity and cultivation of Lis manners showed him 
the true gentleman. These qualities remained untarnished, and 
shone only the more, when he became a military commander. 
No coarse excess soiled for a moment the maidenly delicacy ol' 
his morals; no plunder ever stained his hands, nor did woman, 
nor disarmed enemy, ever meet anything but magnanimous kind- 
ness from them. He was necessarily entrusted, as commander 
of outposts and patrols, in a district subject to martial law, 
with a large discretion in dealing with private rights ; but his 
measures were always directed with such wisdom and equity, 
as to command the approval of friends and foes. His was an 
understanding formed by natm'e for war. As a citizen, he 
would have passed through life unmarked, save for his virtues, 
modesty, and high breeding. But when his native State called 
her sons to the field, he found his proper clement. Excitement 
roused his powers, danger only invigorated and steadied them ; 
and his comrades instinctively recognized in his decision, un- 
erring judgment, magnanimity, and resource, one born to com- 
mand. "When he fell, the presence of the enemy in his native 
county forbade his burial among his kindred ; so that although 
his venerable mother, who had now given to her country her 
last son, with the devotion of a Roman matron, anxiously 
awaited his remains there, it was necessary to seek for them 
another resting place. His fi'iends selected the grave-yard of 
the State University : thither they were conveyed with martial 
pomp, and biu'ied while the thunders of the distant battle at 
Port Republic tolled a fitting Imell for the great soldier. There, 
the tomb, of Ashby should remain, a memorial to the generous 
youth of Vii'ginia, to suggest to them in all future times, the 
virtues and patriotism which he illustrated by his life and death. 



TOPOGRAPHY OP PORT REPUBLIC. 403 

In all the qualities of the citizen, the young man could find no 
nobler or purer exemplar. 

On the 7th of June, the main body of the army was assembled 
in the neighborhood of Port Republic. General Jackson was 
now repeating with Fremont the manoeuvre by which he had 
confounded Banks, by turning aside toward the base of the 
Blue Bidgc. But his ready skill dictated some important dif- 
ferences in liis strategy, to meet the different conditions of the 
case with which he now had to deal. The mountain was, to the 
Confederates, not only a fastness, but a base of operations ; for 
the regions of Eastern Virginia beyond it offered them, by the 
various roads crossing it, both supj^lies, and a safe place of 
retreat. The line of operations of tho Federalists was along 
the great Valley Turnpike ; and this was parallel to the moun- 
tain. Hence, when Jackson took a position at the western foot 
of the Blue Ridge, he gained the> advantage of a military base 
parallel to his enemy's line of operations, which enabled him to 
strike it at right angles, if it were prolonged by further advance 
into the country. Twice he resorted to this strategy, and each 
time it arrested the career of the superior army. His march 
from Swift Run Gap in May had taught lum another advantage, 
belonging to the point which he now selected. A good road led 
from Port Republic across the mountain into Albemarle by 
Brown's Gap, offering him a safe outlet in case of disaster, and 
a means for drawing supplies from that fertile country. Before 
this road crowns the summit of the Blue Ridge, it passes through 
a valley, which* constitutes the most complete natural fortress in 
all these mountains. Two arms of the mountain, lofty and 
ragged as the mother ridge, project from it on the right and 
left hand, embracing a deep vale of many miles' circuit, watered 
by a copious mountain stream ; and while the mighty rim of 
this cup is everywhere impracticable for artillery and cavahy, 



404 LIFE OP LTEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

the narrow gorge tlirougli wliicli the road enters it from tlie 
\rcst, affords scarcely room to sot a regiment in battle array, 
between tlie two promontories of the momitains. Here was 
obviously the place for a small army to stand at bay against 
superior numbers. 

But General Jackson did not purpose to withdraw into this 
fortress, save in the last resort ; for to do this, he must sacrifice 
the advantage which the unscientific strategy of his adversaries 
gave him, by keeping their two armies apart, and attemptiag to 
approach him upon convenient lines, while his army was already 
concentrated. Befooled with tlie old fallacy of crushing an in- 
ferior force by surrounding it from different directions, Fremont 
and Shields were pursuing this method, instead of uniting their 
troops before the collision ; and they were destined to illustrate 
again, by their disasters, the correctness of the maxim, that the in- 
ferior force possessing the interior position between its enemies, 
must have the advantage, if it strikes them in detail while 
separated. The two Federal Commanders had neglected a junc- 
tion below Strasbourg. By burning the Columbia and White 
House Bridges, General Jackson had prevented their union at 
New jlarkct; and he was now prompt to make them continue 
their error. Shields was still east of the Shenandoah, and^ there 
remained but two bridges, above or below, by which he could 
cross to the west side, to reach Fremont. One of these was at 
Port Republic, and was in Jackson's possession ; the other was 
at the mouth of Elk Run valley, fifteen miles below. Tliis 
General Jackson now sent a detacluncnt of cavalry to burn ; 
when there occurred one of those manifest interpositions of 
Providence, which from time to time shewed the answer to his 
prayers for the divine blessing. A quarter of an hour before the 
Confederate troopers reached the bridge, the advanced guard of 
General Shields arrived there, sent by him to ascertain wliether 



BATTLE OP PORT EEPUBLIC. 



40^ 




BATTLE OF PORT REPUBLIC. 



40 G LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

the structure was still standing ; for lie liad now awakened to 
some conception of its importance to him. They found it safe ; 
but hearing that there was a corporal's guard of Confederate 
soldiers a few miles above, watching a parcel of stores, they 
dashed off to capture them, instead of remaining to guard the 
bridge, or else returning to report its condition to their com- 
mander. The stores were captured, and the guard escaped; 
but when the head of Shields's main column reached the bridge, 
the Confederates had arrived, and the work was hopelessly in- 
volved in flames. The Shenandoah, still swollen by the rains 
of a late and ungcnial spring, was nowhere fordable, and the 
construction of a bridge in the presence of such a foe as Jack- 
son was not an inviting enterprise. lie was now master of the 
situation : ho had comprehended all the conditions of the critical 
problem upon which he staked the very .existence of his army; 
and while all others were full of anxious forebodings, he awaited 
the issue with calm determination. 

The part v/hich remained to him in the commg tragedy was 
to hold fast liis command of the brigade at Port Republic, and 
to seize his opportunity to crush the one of his assailants, now 
approaching from opposite directions, whom he judged it most 
judicious to attack. But the nearness of both of them, (within 
less than a day's marcli,) left little room for seekmg the ad- 
vantage which ho knew so well how to use, by rapid movements, 
and successive blows. To any inferior leader, the danger would 
have been imminent of a simultaneous attack in front and rear ; 
for if the converging detachments of enemies are allowed time 
to make such attacks, then indeed, all the success expected from 
the bungling plan of thus surroimding an army, may be realized. 
To understand the consummate imion of skill and audacity with 
whicli Jackson obviated this danger, and still compelled his 
enemies to fiuht him in detail, although within sili'ht of the smoke 



SHIELDS'S ADVANCE AT LEWISTOX. 40T 

of each others' giuis ; a more particular description of the ground 
is necessary. Between Harrisonburg and Port Republic the 
country is occupied by the wooded ridges characteristic of a 
limestone region, elevated but rounded, and practicable for 
the movements even of artillery; and these are interspersed 
with farms and fields which fill the vales. These bold hills 
extend to the river's brink on that side; while between the 
waters and the mountain, where Shields was approaching, the 
country stretches out in low and smooth meadows, everywhere 
commanded from the heights across the stream. Between these 
level fields and the mountain itself, is interposed a zone of 
forest, of three miles' width, broken into insignificant hillocks, 
and interposed with tangled brush-wood, which stretches parallel 
with the river and the Blue Eidge, for a day's march above and 
below. The little village is seated on the southeastern side of 
the Shenandoah, in the level meadows, and just within the angle 
between the main stream and a tributary called South River. 
The only road to Brown's Gap, descending from the bold high- 
lands of the northwest bank, over the long wooden bridge, 
passes through the hamlet, crosses the South River by a ford, 
and speedily hides itself, upon its way to the mountain-base, in 
the impenetrable coppices of the wood. 

General Shields, disappointed in the hope of joining Fremont 
by the bridge at Elk Run valley, continued his march up the 
southeastern bank of the river, by the same difficult road which 
the Confederates had followed in their march from Swift Run in 
April. On the evening of Satui'day, the 7th of June, his ad- 
vance appeared at Lewiston, the country-seat of General Lewis, 
three miles below the village. The main object dictated by 
General Jackson's situation now was, to keep his enemies apart, 
separated as they were by the swollen stream, and to fight first 
the one or the other of them, as his interest might advise him. 



408 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

The defeat of one "would obviously procure the retreat of both ; 
for their cautious and timid strategy requu-ed the concert of the 
two armies to embolden them for coping with their dreaded 
adversary. It was manifest that good generalship should select 
Shields as the victim of the first blow. Ilis force was smaller 
than that of Fremont, and so it was reasonable to expect an 
easier victory over it. If he were beaten, his retreat would be 
hemmed in between the river and the mountain, to a single 
scarcely practicable road ; whereas General Fremont would be 
able, if overthi'own, to withdi-aw by a number of easy highways. 
If, on the other hand, the attack of the Confederates upon 
Shields were unsuccessful, they would be able to retii-e into thcii* 
own country, and nearer their supplies ; while if they were 
defeated in an assault on Fremont upon the other side of the 
river, they would have that barrier to a retreat in theii* rear, 
with Shields's army unbroken, threatening them with destruction. 
It might appear, at first thought, that the obvious way to carry 
out the purpose of attacking Shields and defeating him sepa- 
rately, was to withdraw the whole Confederate army at once to 
the same side of the river with him, burn the bridge, thus 
leaving Fremont alone and useless upon the other bank, and 
then fall with full force upon the former. This, any other good 
soldier than Jackson would probably have done ; but his designs 
were more audacious and profound still. "With whatever 
promptitude he might attack Shields, he saw that the battle-field 
must be upon the southeastern margin of the Shenandoah, and 
under the heights of the opposite bank; wliich, if he yielded 
all the country on that side to Fremont, would of course be 
crowned by his artillery. And then, the struggle would have 
been virtually against both his foes combined; although the 
waters still flowed between their troops. Li addition, his 
powerful artillery, the right arm of his strength, would then 



CONFEDERATE POSITION AT CEOSS-EEYS. 



409 




CONFEDERATE POSITIOIf AT CBOSS-KEYS, 



410 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

have been paralyzed by the inferiority of its positions as com- 
pared with those* ceded to Fremont upon the northwestern 
bank. Further, General Jackson was not willuig to deprive 
himself of the power to take the aggressive against Fremont, 
after disposing of Shields, should his success in assailing the 
latter prove sujfficiently crusliing to encourage him to a second 
battle. 

For these reasons, General Jackson neither ceded the north- 
western bank to Fremont, nor bui-ned the bridge. Where an 
inferior genius would have purchased the full union of his forces 
at the expense of allowing to his two enemies a virtual concert 
as injurious as an actual jimction ; he accepted a nominal sepa- 
ration of his own troops, perceiving that he would thus have the 
most effective co-operation. He purposed thus to hold both 
liis adversaries at bay, until the propitious moment arrived to 
strike one of them a deadly blow. For this end, he selected for 
General EwcU an excellent position upon the road leadmg to 
Harrisonburg, five miles from the bridge, while he posted the 
other division of his army, with several batteries of artillery, 
upon the heights next the river, but still upon the northwest 
side. Thence his guns could overlook and defend the bridge, 
the village, the narrow champaign extending towards Brown's 
Gap, and all the approaches on the side of Shields. In Port 
Republic itself he stationed no troops save a detachment of 
horse, which giiardcd the roads towards Lewiston, and protected 
his own quarters in the village. His dispositions were com- 
pleted by bringing all his trains across the bridge and placing 
them near by, where they might be withdrawn cither to the 
mountain or to Staunton. Two companies of cavaky were 
detached to watch the approach of General Shields, of which 
one was sent to reconnoitre, and the other was stationed as a 
picket guard upon the road to Lewiston. 



ESCAPE OF THE ORDNAXCE TEAIN. 411 

TliG morning of June 8th, which was the Sabbath day, dawned 
with all the peaceful brightness appropriate to the Cln-istian's 
sacred rest;, and General Jackson, who never infringed its 
sanctity by his own choice, was preparing himself and his 
wearied men to spend it in devotion. But soon after the sun 
surmounted the eastern mountain, the pickets next the army 
of Shields came rushing to the head-quarters in the village, in 
confusion, with tlie Federal cavalry and a section of artillery 
close upon their heels. So feeble was the resistance which they 
offered, the advance of the enemy dashed across the ford of the 
South Eiver almost as soon as they, and occupied the streets. 
The General had barely time to mount and gallop towards the 
bridge, with a part of his staff, when the way was closed ; two 
others of his suite, attempting to follow him a few moments 
after, were captured in the street ; and one or two, perceiving 
the hopelessness of the attempt, remained with the handful of 
troops thus cut off. But out of this accident, to them so invol- 
untary. Providence ordained that a result should proceed essen- 
tial to the safety of the army. As the captured Confederate 
officers stood beside the commander of the Federal advance, 
some of his troopers returned to him, and pointed out the long 
train of wagons hurrying away, apparently without armed escort, 
just beyond the outskirts of the village. He immediately 
ordered a strong body of cavalry in pursuit; and the hearts 
of the Confederates sank within them ; for they Imew that this 
was Jackson's ordnance train, containing the reserve ammunition 
of the whole army ; and that all its other baggage was equally 
at the mercy of the cnemj^ But as the eager Federals reached 
the head of the village, they were met by a volley of musketry, 
which sent them scampering back ; and when they returned to 
the charge, two pieces of artillery opened upon them,' to the 
equal surprise and delight of tlicir anxious captives, and speedily 



412 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENEilAIi JACKSON. 

cleared the streets with sliowcrs .of canister. The explanation 
"was, that one of the officers separated from the General's suite, 
seeing the impossibility of joining him, had addressed himself to 
rallying a handful of the fugitive picket guards, and with these, 
and a section of raw artillerists from the reserves, had boldly 
attacked the enemy. Thus the trains were saved, and a diversion 
was made, until the General could bring forward more sub- 
stantial succors. 

Nor was it long before these were at hand. Galloping across 
the bridge, and up the heights, to the camp of the 3rd and 1st 
brigades of his own division, he ordered the long roll to be 
instantly beaten, and the artillery to be harnessed. The horses 
were still grazing in the luxuriant clover-fields, and the men were 
scattered under the shade of the groves ; but in a few moments 
the guns were ready for action, and two or tlu'ce regiments were 
in line. Jackson ordered the batteries of Poague, Wooding, 
and Carpenter to crown the heights overlooking the river, and 
placing himself at the head of the leading regiment of the 3rd 
biygade, — the 37th Virginia of Colonel Fulkcrson, — rushed at 
a double-quick toward the all-important bridge, now in the ene- 
my's possession. When he approached it, ho saw the village 
beyond crowded with Federal cavalry, but now checked in their 
pursuit of his trains j . while one of their two field-pieces was 
replying to the Confederate artillery, and the other Was placed 
at the mouth of the bridge, prepared to sweep it with murderous 
discharges of grape. One lightning glance was enough to decide 
him. Ordering Captain Poague to engage with one of his pieces 
the gun at the southern end of the bridge, he led the 37th regi- 
ment aside from the high road, so that they descended the decliv- 
ity obliquely against the upper side of that structure, marching 
by the" flank. "Without pausing to wheel them into line, as they 
came within effective distance, he commanded them, with a tone 



EETREAT OF SHIELDS's TROOPS. 413 

and mien of inexpressible aiitliority; to deliver one round upon 
the enemy's artillerists, and then rush through the bridge upon 
them with the bayonet. They fired one stinging volley, which 
swept every cannoneer from the threatening gun, and then dashed 
with a yell tlu-ough the narrow avenue. As soon as Jackson 
uttered his command he drew up his horse, and, dropping the 
reins upon his neck, raised both his hands toward the heavens 
wliile the fire of battle in his face changed into a look of reveren- 
tial awe. Even while ho prayed, the God of battles heard ; or 
ever he had withdrawn his uplifted hands the bridge was gained, 
and the enemy's gun was captured. Thus, in an instant, was a 
passage won, with the loss of two men wounded, Avhicli might 
have become a second bridge of Lodi, costing the blood of hun- 
dreds of brave soldiers. So rapid and skilful was the attack, 
the enemy were able to make but one hurried discharge, before 
their position and their artillery were wrested from them. To 
clear the village of their advance was now the work of a moment, 
for the batteries frownmg upon the opposite bank rendered it 
untenable to them; and the Confederate troopers next the 
baggage trains, plucking up heart, scoured the streets of every 
foe. Their retreat was so precipitate that they left their other 
piece of artillery behind them also, and dashed across the fords 
of South E-ivcr by the way they came. 

As they retired toward Lewiston, they met the infantry of 
Shields's army advancing to their support. But it was too late : 
the batteries were now all in position, and greeted their approach 
with a storm of projectiles from the farther side of the river, 
before which they were compelled to recoil with loss. The 
novel sight was now presented, of a retreating army pursued 
by two or three batteries of field guns, and retirmg before them 
in helpless confusion. For as the Federal troops withdrew 
along the south side of the stream, the Confederates limbered 



414 LIT'E OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

tlicir guns and galloped over tlic swelling fields' upon the north 
side, to other lofty positions, whence they still commanded the 
ground occupied by the retreating foe, until he concealed him- 
self behind the forest near Lewiston. He thus verified the judg- 
ment of General Jackson, by finding himself as effectually 
debarred, by these masterly dispositions, from co-operating in 
the contemplated attack of Fremont, as though ho had been 
separated from him by many days' marches. And although the 
most urgent motives prompted Shields to renew his attack in 
concert with his associate on the other side, so manifest was the 
triumph of Jackson's generalship, he did not again venture 
the hopeless attempt j but sat all day idle, within sound of the 
cannonade, which told him that Fremont was compelled to risk 
and lose the field, without his aid. One clement of General 
Jackson's greatness and success was the decision and confidence 
with which he held the conclusions of his own judgment after 
he had once matured them. His reflcctibn was careful, his 
caution in weighing all competing considerations gTcat; but 
when his mind once adopted its verdict, it held to it with unwav- 
ering and giant grasp. Tliis characteristic was strongly illus- 
trated in these events. As the reader viewed the considerations 
detailed above, by which the plan of action was dictated at Port 
Republic, some of them have probably appeared to him so nice 
and delicate, that he was inclined to deem it raslmcss, to stake 
the existence of an army upon deductions drawn from them. 
But when General Jackson had weighed them all, his decision 
was made with an absolute confidence, and he was calmly pre- 
pared to risk everything upon it. When ifc was argued with 
him that, surely. General Shields would not suffer the critical 
hour to pass, without attemptmg again to co-operate with Fre- 
mont by a more serious and persistent attack, his only answer 
was, to wave his hand towards the commanding positions of his 



ATTACKED BY FEEMONT. 415 

artillery, and say ; " No sir ! No 1 He cannot do it ; I should 
tear him to pieces." And lie did not do it ! During all the 
remainder of the day's struggle, he remained j^assive ; visited, 
doubtless, by misgivings not very comfortable, as to his own 
coming share in the attentions of the Confederate General. The 
latter now placed the third brigade, under Brigadier-General 
Taliaferro, in the village, to watch the fords of South River and 
the roads toward Lewiston, on the one hand, while on the other, 
he guarded the course of the Shenandoah above the village and 
opposite to General Ewell's left, by a few pickets. The first 
brigade, of General Winder was sent down the river with a por- 
tion of the- artillery, and posted upon the north side, to observe 
the discomfited enemy about Lewiston. The remainder of his 
division was disposed so as to be ready for the support of Ewell. 
These dispositions had not been completed, when the firing to 
the north told that he was seriously engaged with Fremont. 
This General had moved out to the attack from Harrisonburo-, 
(doubtless expecting the assistance of Shields upon the other 
side,) with the divisions of Blenker, Miboy and Schenck, making 
seven brigades of infantry, a brigade of cavalry, and a power- 
ful train of artillery. This army was correctly estimated by 
General Ewell, at eighteen thousand men. His own division 
had now been recruited, by the addition of the six regiments of 
General Edward Johnson, known as the army of the northwest. 
Of these, the 12th Georgia, and the 25th and 31st Vii^ginia, had 
been attached to the Brigade of Elzey; and the 52nd, 58th and 
44th Vii'ginia, lately under Colonel Scott, had been given to 
General George Stewart, and associated with the Maryland line. 
The position chosen for meeting Fremont was a continuous 
ridge, a little south of the point where the Keezletown road 
crosses that from Harrisonburg to Port Republic. This range 
of hills crosses the latter highway obliquely, in such manner that 



41 G LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

General Ewell's left, occupying it, was much advanced, beyond his 
]"ig]it, and rested, at its extremity, very near the prolongation of 
the Keczletown road, toward the west. The hills arc elevated, 
but occupied by arable fields. In front runs an insignificant 
rivuk't, while the rear and flanks of the position arc covered by 
woods of noble oaks, penetrable even by a column of artillery, 
in many places, but yet aflbrding excellent cover for sharpshoot- 
ers. On this ridge, then, General Ewell deliberately posted his 
troops to receive the shock, while Colonel Canty, with the 5ih 
Alabama infantry, stubbornly contested the advance of the 
enemy along the road from Harrisonburg. In the centre, upon 
the best positions, he placed four picked batteries, those of 
Courtney, Lusk, Brockenborough, and Rains, with General 
Elzey's brigade in their rear, as a reserve force. On his right 
was the brigade of General Trimble, in advance of the centre, 
and on liis left, that of General Stewart. The guns were placed 
on the reverse of the hills, a little behind the crest, where the 
caimoneers were protected from all missiles which came hori- 
zontally; and the lines of infantry lay in the valleys behind 
them, almost secure from danger. 

About ten o'.clock A. !M., the Federal artillery was posted 
opposite to this position, and a spu-ited cannonade began, which 
contmued for several hours. Indeed, the battle was chiefly one 
of artillery ; for this arm was the only one whicli the Federalists 
employed with any perseverance or courage. After feeling the 
Confederate lines for a time with- this fire of cannon, Fremont 
advanced a part of Blenkcr's German division, upon his left. 
Findmg no enemies near the front of his left, save a few videttcs, 
who were easily repulsed, he sent back glowing accounts of liis 
success, in driving in the Confederate right -wing. When ho 
had thus swung around for nearly a mile, he was rudely unde- 
ceived. The veteran .General Trimble, held his excellent 



ATTACK ON EWELL's LEFT. 417 

brigade well in hand, behind the crest of a forest ridge, which, 
in front descended by a gentle declivity, to the margin of a wide 
meadow, and was there bounded by heavy fence of timber. He 
commanded the troops to reserve their fire until the enemy 
appeared above the hill, within point-blank range, when he 
poured a deadly discharge into their ranks. The Germans 
recoiled in disorder, and Trimble, seizing the moment, charged 
them with the bayonet, and drove them down the slope and 
across the meadow. It was then, especially that the foe paid 
the penalty of his assault. The Confederates pausing at the 
fence, and filing from it in security, and with deliberate aim, 
continued their murderous discharges, until the enemy had 
crossed the open ground, and taken refuge in the opposite wood. 
The green vale was strewn with hundreds of the dead and 
wounded ; and the remainder left the field, to be rallied no more 
that day. The Federals now attempted to arrest Trimble's 
career, by posting a battery a half mile in front of his extreme 
right. But having received the 25 th and 13 th Virginia regi- 
ments, of Elzey's brigade, as reinforcements, he at once ad- 
vanced with the purpose of capturing it. After several spirited 
sldrmishes with its infantry supports, he forced his way to the 
ground, and found it deserted. General Trimble had now ad- 
vanced more than -a mile from his original position, while the 
Federal advance had fallen back to the ground occupied by 
them before the beginning of the action. 

The enemy then developed a strong movement toward 
General Ewell's left, for which the Keezletown road, proceedmg 
westward from Cross Keys, provided such facilities. This 
advantage, with the superior numbers of the opposing army, 
manifestly suggested the fear of such a movement, and nothing 
but the most impotent generalship on their part, could account 
for the fact that they allowed the day to close, disastrously for 

53 



418 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

them, without making it. General Ewell's left being neces- 
sarily tlii'own strongly forward, would liave been enfiladed by 
troops advancing from that quarter. Hence, he wisely guarded 
that wing, and employed the most of his reinforcements to 
strengthen it. A little after mid-day, when the battle was at its 
height. General Jackson rode to the field, from his post near 
Port Republic, and calmly examined the progress of the struggle. 
Returning, he sent back to Ewell the Louisiana brigade of 
Taylor, which had been moved to his support during the alarm 
at the bridge, and also detached the second brigade of his 
division, under Colonel Patton. The remainder of General 
Elzey's brigade was then moved to the left, leaving their post in 
the rear of the centre to these troops. Thus prepared. General 
Ewell awaited for a long time the expected onset upon his 
flank. It resulted in nothing more than a feeble demonstration, 
which was easily repulsed by two or three regiments of Elzey. 
Seeing this, Ewell advanced his own line just before night-fall, 
drove in the enemy's skirmishers, and assumed a new position 
on ground which they had held during the battle. Thus the 
day closed, and his troops lay upon their arms, upon the 
vantage-ground they had won, ready to resume the strife, and 
hoping to rout Fremont at dawn on the morrow. 

Li this combat of Cross Keys, Ewell had about six thousand 
men in his line of battle, and only three thousand five hundred 
actually engaged. Yet Fremont reported to his government 
that he was compelled to yield to superior force, and found 
himself outnumbered at every point where he attempted a 
movement. The veteran Ewell remarked, that he felt, all day 
as though he were again fighting the feeble, semi-civilized armies 
of Mexico. The loss with which the Confederates achieved this 
success, was surprisingly small, being only forty-two (42) killed, 
and two hundred and tlm-ty-onc wounded The chief loss of 



BRIDGE ACROSS SOUTH RIVER. 41 D 

the enemy was probably in front of Trimble, where it amounted 
to many himdrcds. 

General Jackson, regarding Fremont as only repulsed, and not 
routed, still adhered to his purpose to risk his first decisive blow 
against Sliields, for the reasons which have been explained ; and 
he deemed the present the proper hour to strike it, while the 
former was reeling and confused from his rude rebuff, and the 
latter was standing irresolute in an exposed attitude. He there- 
fore summoned General Ewell, after he had completed his dispo- 
sitions for the night, to his quarters ; and instructed him to send 
the trains over to the troops, for the purpose of issuing food to 
them; to have them again withdrawn to the south side of the 
Shenandoah, and at break of day to march to Port Republic, 
leaving a strong rear-guard to amuse and retard the enemy. 
Then, awaiting the rising of the moon, which occurred about 
midnight, he collected his pioneers ; and caused them, under his 
own eye, to construct a foot-bridge across the fords of the South 
Eiver, by which he designed to pass his infantry down toward 
Lewiston. This structure was hastily made by placing wagons, 
without their bodies, longitudinally across the stream. The 
axles formed the cross-beams for the support of the floor -, and 
the latter was composed of long boards, borrowed from a neigh- 
boring saw-mill, laid loosely from one to another. This bridge, 
on the morrow, furnished an instance of the truth, that very great 
events may be determined by very trivial ones. It was intended 
that the flooring should occupy the whole breadth between the 
wheels of the wagons, giving passage to several men abreast. 
But by an oversight, just at the deepest and angriest jpart of the 
stream, the hinder axle of a large wagon was placed next the 
foremost axle of the next. The inequality in the height, with the 
increasing depth of the current, made a space of- nearly two feet, 
which, when the flooring was placed in order, presented a step, 



420 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACESON. 

or sudden descent, of that amount; and all tlic boards of the 
higher stage proved to be unsupported at their ends, and elastic, 
but one. As the men began to pass over in column, several "were 
thrown into the water by this treacherous and yielding platform, 
until, at length, growing skittish of it, they refused to trust them- 
selves to any except the one solid i^lank ,* and thus the column 
was converted, at this point, into a single file. 

The actual achievements of General Jackson at Port Republic 
were as brilliant as anything in the history of war. But his 
secret design embraced still more. It has already been explained 
that he did not arrest the pursuit of Fremont by at once burning 
the bridge across the Shenandoah, because he was unwilling to 
deprive himself of the ability to take the aggressive against that 
General. lie now formed the bold purpose to concentrate liis 
army, and fight both Shields and him, successively, the same day. 
Hence his eagerness to begin the attack on the former at an 
early hoiu\ Stronger evidence of this startling design will be 
given. During the night he held an inter^aew with Colonel 
Patton, commanding the 2nd brigade, which he then proposed to 
employ as a rear-guard to cover the withdrawal of General 
E well's forces from the front of Fremont. This officer found 
him, at two o'clock in the morning of the 9th, actively engaged 
in making his dispositions for battle. He immediately proceeded 
to give him particular instructions as to the management of his 
men in covering the rear, saying : " I wish you to tlu'ow out all 
}'Our men, if necessary, as skirmishers, and to make a great show, 
so as to cause the enemy to think the whole army are behind 
you. Hold your position as well as you can; then fall back, 
when obliged ; take a new position ; 'hold it in the same way ; 
and I will be hack to join you hi the viorningy Colonel Patton 
reminded him that his brigade was small, and that the country 
between Cross Keys and the Shenandoah offered few advantages 



DEFECT IX THE BRIDGE. 421 

for protracting such manosuvi'es. He therefore clesu-ecl to know 
for how long a time ho would be expected to hold the army of 
Fremont in check. He replied : " By the blessing of Providence, 
I hope to be back by ten o'clock." 

Here then, we have revealed his whole purpose : He allotted 
five hours to crushing the army of Shields, and expected the 
same day to recross the Shenandoah and assail Fremont, or 
at least re-occupy his strong position upon the north bank, and 
again defy his attack. The Stonewall Brigade was accordingly 
ordered to begin the movement at the dawn of day ; and by five 
o'clock it had crossed the South River, and" was ready to ad- 
vance against Shields. The Louisiana brigade of General Tay- 
lor came next, and as soon as they had passed the foot-bridge, 
the General eagerly moved with them to the attack, directing 
the trains to be passed toward Brown's Gap in the mountain, 
and the remainder of the troops to be hurried across as rapidly 
as they arrived, and sent to his support. But now the defect 
which has been described in the footway disclosed itself; pro- 
posals to arrest the passage of the troops long enough to remedy 
it effectually, or else to disuse the bridge, and force the men 
through the water, were all neglected by the commanders of 
brigades; and while six or eight thousand men were passed 
over in single file, ten o'clock arrived and passed by. The con- 
sequence was, that the first attack made upon the Federalists, 
being met with a stubborn resistance, and unsustained by ade- 
quate numbers, was repulsed with loss, and the battle was pro- 
tracted far beyond the hour which permitted a second engage- 
ment that day on different ground. Thus three ill-adjusted 
boards cost the Confederates a hard-fought and bloody battle, 
and delivered Fremont from a second defeat far more disastrous 
than that of the previous day. 

When General Jackson led the brigades of Winder and 



422 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

Taylor against the Federalists, he found tlieir main army posted 
advantageously at Lewiston. The level tract wliicli intervenes 
between the Shenandoah and the forest-zone which gu-dles the 
mountain's base, has been described. The whole space was here 
occupied with smooth fields of waving clover and wheat, divided 
by the zigzag wooden fences of the country. Near the edge of 
the forest stood the ample villa of General Lewis, surrounded 
by substantial barns and stables, and orchards ; while a lane, 
enclosed by a double fence, led thence du'cct to a mill and 
dwelling upon the margin of the stream. This lane marked 
the basis of the enemy's line of defence. His right was sup- 
ported upon the river, and his left upon the impenetrable wood,, 
while his centre was defended by the extensive enclosures and 
buildings of Lewiston. Upon a liiUock just at the edge of the 
thickets were planted six field -pieces, which commanded the 
road from Port Republic, and all the fields adjacent to it. 

General Jackson's plan of battle was now promptly formed. 
He placed the Stonewall Brigade, commanded by Brigadier- 
General Winder, in front, supported on its right by one of the 
regiments of Brigadier-General Taylor, and on its left by 
the 52nd and 31st Virginia regiments. The battery of Poague 
was posted in its front, while that of Carpenter was ordered to 
make its way tlirough the tangled forest upon the right and find 
some commanding position, whence they could silence the ene- 
my's guns above Lewiston. The brigade of General Taylor 
was also sent to the right, by a detour through the woods, to 
capture those guns, and then to turn the position of the Fed- 
eralists. But the almost impenetrable tliickets rendered their 
progress slow, and by a slight mistake of their du'cction in these 
pathless coverts, they approached the left front, rather than the 
flank of the dangerous battery. ]\Ieantime the Stonewall Bri- 
gade, with its supports, had advanced across the level fields. 



PROGRESS OF THE CONTEST. 423 

without any shelter from the animated fire of artillery and rifles, 
from the orchards and fences about Lewiston, and after a 
stubborn contest with overpowering numbers, was compelled to 
retire, leaving one six-pounder in the enemy's possession. As 
the Louisiana troops emerged from the woods on the hill-sides 
above, they saw with admiration the Virginians sustaining the 
unequal combat with heroic courage, until they were at length 
forced back, their ammunition exhausted, by sheer weight of 
numbers. The Federalists now advanced from their cover, with 
loud and taunting cheers, pierced the centre of Jackson's feeble 
line, an-d threatened to throw back the fugitives against the river 
which was upon their left, and thus to cut them off from retreat. 
But the regiments of Taylor, nothing daunted, charged the 
Federal batter}^, and driving the supports away, seized the six 
guns, which they held for a short time. General Ewell, who 
had now passed the whole of his division across the South 
River, was also hurrying to the front. He had just placed the 
44th and 58th Virginia regiments, as a reserve, on the right 
of the road-way, and fronting towards it, under cover of the 
wood. Seeing Winder forced back, and two brigades of the 
enemy impetuously advancing tlirough the Confederate centre, 
he now most opportunely launched the two regiments against 
their flank, and poured in a galling fire. The Federalists 
wheeled and confronted them, and, after a furious conflict, forced 
them back also with heavy loss. But a saving diversion had 
been made. The attack of Taylor upon their left had silenced 
their Artillery for the time, and placed him far in rear of their 
advancing ' lines. The indefatigable Winder rallied his scat- 
tered infantry, and sought new positions for the remaining guns 
of Poague, and for the battery of Carpenter, who had now 
returned from his ineffectual struggle with the thickets; and 
the batteries of Chew, Brockenborough, Courtenay and Rains 



424 LIFE OF LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSON. 

contributed, to reinstate liis battle, with such pieces as had not 
been crippled in the contest of Ihe previous day. Thus the inso- 
lent foe was steadily borne back toward his original position at 
Lcwiston, and the buildings, orchards and fences, which he occu- 
pied there, were scourged by a pitiless storm of cannon-shot. 

But it is time to return to General Taylor, who was left in pos- 
session of the Federal battery of six guns, upon the right. Ue 
was now, in turn, driven from them, by a brigade wliich made 
a detour tlu-ough the thicket, and fell upon his right flank. At 
this critical juncture. General Ewcll brought up the 44th and 
58th Virginia regiments to his support, which had been rallied 
after thcu' bloody contest on the centre, and advanced under 
Colonel Scott, with a steadiness unexampled in volunteer troops, 
after losses so severe as theu'S. By their assistance, and that of 
the 2nd Virginia regiment from the Stonewall Brigade, Taylor's 
attack was renewed. Twice more was the contested battery 
lost and won. The Confederates, driven off for a time by the 
enfilading fire of the enemy in the woods above them, and the 
murderous volleys of canister in front, rushed again and again 
to the charge ; and after the third capture, the prize remained 
in their possession, while the Federalists sullenly retired. The 
dead of both armies were iutermingled around the guns, while 
nearly all the horses belonging to them, lay slaughtered behind 
them. 

Meantime, General Jackson perceived that the struggle had 
become too protracted and serious to permit another collision 
with Fremont that day. The brigade of General Trimblft, with 
two regiments from that of Colonel Patton, were slowly retiring 
before him from Cross Keys toward the river. At 10 o'clock 
A. M., a messenger was despatched to them by the General, with 
orders to hasten their march to his assistance, and to burn the 
bridge behind them. The brigade of General Taliaferro, which 



FEDERAL INHUMANITY. 425 

had been left to occupy the villagej was also hurried to the front, 
and arriving with great celerity, gave the parting volley to the 
retreating foe. The. cavalry of Ashby was now launched, after 
them, and their flight became a rout. Nearly half of an Ohio 
regiment were separated from their comrades by General 
Taliaferro, and surrendered in a body; and the pursuit was 
continued eight miles farther by the cavalry, who gathered, as 
spoils of war, small arms and vehicles, with many prisoners. 

In the battle of Port Eepublic, tlie Federalists had eight 
thousand men engaged, and the Confederates tln-ee small bri- 
gades of infantry, with thi'ee regiments of cavalry, and a superior 
artillery. The enemy fought with a steadmess and courage 
unwonted, and inflicted upon the troops of General Jackson, a 
serious loss of ninety-one officers and men killed, and six 
hundred and eighty-six wounded. They owed thek escape 
from ruin, only to the narrow road by which they retreated, 
and the impenetrable wilderness by which it was bordered; 
which made the manoeuvres of cavalry impossible, and enabled 
a small rear-guard to cover their flight successfully. It was 
said that General Shields was fifteen miles in the rear with 
his reserves, when the battle occurred, and that the forces en- 
gaged were commanded by Brigadier- General Tyler. 

As the evening approached, General Jackson recalled his 
jaded men from the pursuit, and led them by a side way, from 
Lewiston, towards the mouth of Brown's Gap, in tHe Blue 
Ridge. As they passed the field of battle on their return, they 
saw the hills opposite to Port Republic, black with the troops of 
Fremont, who had arrived in time to be impotent spectators of 
the flight of their friends. That commander now vented his dis- 
appointed malice in an act of inhumanity, for which he will be 
execrated until his name sinks into its merited oblivion. The tall 
wheat and the tano-led thickets were full of the dead and of 



426 LIFE OF LIEDT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

mangled Tsrctchcs, difficult to, be discovered, and scattered over 
a length of three miles. A dreary and chilling rain was com- 
mencing. The Confederates were busy searching out and 
relieving the sufferers, and collcctmg the dead for a decent 
burial. Many -wounded men had been carried into a farm-house 
near the river, and its surroundmg buildings, and the yellow flag, 
the sacred badge of suffering, was conspicuously displayed from 
its roof, while the surgeons and chaplains were busily plpng 
their humane labors. Suddenly Fremont advanced his artillery 
and riflemen, to the heights from which General Jackson had 
cannonaded the troops of Shields the previous day, and swept 
the whole field, and the hospital, with a storm of shot. The 
ambulances, with their merciful attendants, were driven away, 
and the wounded fled precipitately from theu' cots. The design 
of this outrage was obvious j it was supposed that the humanity 
of General Jackson, would prompt him to demand by flag of 
truce, an unmolested opportunity to tend the wounded ; and on 
that request, the Federal General designed to found a pretext 
for claiming, in his despatches, the command of the field and the 
victory ; which he knew beloligcd to Jackson. But the latter 
was as clear-sighted, and as determined, as he was humane. No 
flag of truce, no request was sent. Thanks to the affectionate 
zeal of the soldiers, all the Confederate dead and wounded had 
been already removed ; and they were just proceeding to extend 
the offices of humanity to their enemies, when this treacherous 
interruption occurred. So that the only result of Fremont's 
savage generalship was, that his own suffering comrades lay 
under the drenching rain, until he retu-ed to Harrisonburg. By 
that time, many had died miserably of hemorrhage, cxliaustion 
and hunger, whom their generous enemies would have rescued ; 
and not a few of their dead, with some, perchance, of the man- 
gled living, were partially devoured by swine before thcii* burial I 



FRUITS OF THE VICTORY. 427 

It was as General Jackson was returning on tliis day from the 
pursuit of tlie routed Federalists, that he first saw their diabol- 
ical explosive rifle-balls. A soldier presented him several which 
lie had found in the dust of the road, unexploded. On examina- 
tion they were found to be composed of two pieces of lead, 
enclosing a cavity between them, and cemented together by pres- 
sure. The hollow space was filled with fulminating powder, 
which was intended to explode by percussioit, upon the impact 
of the ball against the bone of the penetrated body. Thus the 
fra2;ments of lead would be driven in various and erratic direc- 
tions through the mangled flesh, bafiiing the surgeon's probe, and 
converting the wound into a mortal one. 

While Jackson sought a season of secure repose for his over- 
tasked men within the mountain cove of Brown's Gap, Fremont 
made pretence of bridging the Shenandoah Eiver in order to 
assail him again. The Confederate pickets reported that on the 
evening of the 9th he was bringing timber to the bank, and on 
the morning of the 10th he was using it for some structure in the 
water. But soon after, he seemed to think better of his danger- 
ous position, and disappeared from the neighborhood. Doubt- 
less, he had now learned the true condition of General Shields's 
army. The Confederate cavalry, under Colonel Munford, cross- 
ing the river above Port Eepublic, pursued to Harrisonburg, 
which they entered June 12th, Fremont having retired precipi- 
tately down the Valley, leaving his hospitals, and many arms 
and carriages, to capture. Four hundred and fifty prisoners 
were taken upon the field ; and the sick and wounded found in 
the hospitals swelled the number to nine hundred. One thou- 
sand small arms, and nine beautiful field-pieces, with all their 
apparatus, fell to the victors as prize of war. On the 9th of 
June, the loss of the Federalists in killed and wounded did not 
much differ from that of the Confederates. On the 8th the 



428 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

disproportion was cnorraous. In front of General Trimble's bri- 
gade alone, tlie dead were two hundred and ninety. When the 
most moderate addition is made for the loss inflicted by the ter- 
rific cannonade of the centre, and the spirited skirmishing on the 
left of General EaycH's line, the "whole number of Federal killed 
and wounded cannot be placed at less than two thousand. And 
to this agi'ced the testimony of the prisoners and of the citizens. 
The heavy loss^f the Confederates on the 9th was due to the 
superior position occupied by the Federalists, to the fact that 
General Sliields's brigades fought better than Fremont's, and to 
the detention of General Jackson's column at the imperfect foot- 
bridge across South Hivcr, which caused his first attack to fail 
through deficient numbers. His zeal and eagerness led him to 
forget that no subordinates could be expected to urge their com- 
mands to the field with his fiery energy ; and, in this sense, he 
required them to undertake too much. If there had been no 
bridge, and the infantry had been requii*ed to ford the summer 
stream in dense columns, so as to reach the field more simulta- 
taneously, the victory would have been more j)romptly and 
cheaply won. Again, if the Louisiana brigade of General Taylor 
had been more accurately directed by its guides, thi'ough the 
tangled wilderness to the right of the battle-field, so as to strike 
the rear of the enemy's left, as was the pui-pose of their com- 
mander, instead of their left front;' and if they had arrived at 
the moment of the front attack by Brigadier- General Winder, in 
place of appearing after he was repulsed, the army of Shields 
would have been destroyed. For, just below Lewistou, the 
champaign suddenly terminates, the hill-side thickets approach 
the river-bank, and to the mouth of the single narrow woodland 
track, by which the Federalists must have all retreated, Gene- 
ral Taylor would have been nearer than they ; while he would 
have commanded their approach to it fiom a superior and a 



HIS TROOPS ENCAMP. 429 

sheltered position. The discomfited enemy, thus arrested on 
the one side, and driven on the other, by the whole weight of the 
Confederate army, into the neck of such a funnel, would have 
been crushed to pieces. Such was Jackson's masterly plan: 
natural obstacles, and the mistakes of some subordinates, caused 
the performance to fall short of it. 

But enough was accomplished to cover General Jackson with 
a blaze of glory. Fifteen days before, he was a hundred miles 
from his base, with a little army of fifteen thousand men, while 
forty thousand enemies were on his immediate front and flanks. 
Now, he Was disembarrassed of them all, with a loss of not more 
than one thousand five hundred men ; while two armies, whose 
aggregate was double liis own, were flying from him, quivering 
with disaster, leaving his victorious hands full of trophies. From 
this hour, doubt and detraction were silenced ; he stood forth 
aclmowledged by all as a General of transcendent abilities. His 
mere name, henceforth, brought assurance of triumph to his 
friends, and panic to his enemies. Within forty days he had 
marched four hundred miles, fought four pitched battles, — 
defeating four separate armies, — with numerous combats and 
skirmishes, sent to the rear three thousand five hundred prison- 
ers, killed and wounded a still larger number of the enemy, and 
defeated or neutralized forces three times as numerous as his 
own, upon his proper theatre of war, besides the corjjs of McDow- 
ell, which was rendered inactive at Fredericksburg by the fear 
of his prowess. 

On the 12th of June, before the dawn, the army were marched 
out from their confined and uneasy bivouac in Brown's Gap, to the 
plains of Mount Meridian, upon the middle fork of the Shenan- 
doah, a few miles above Port Republic. The two days' rain 
was now succeeded by the brilliant suns and genial warmth of 
June. The troops were encamped in a range of woodland 



430 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKS0J7. 

groves betTvcen the two rivers, surrounded with tlic verdure of 
early summer, and the luxuriant wheat fields whitening for the 
hai-vcst. In this smiling paradise they solaced themselves 
five days for their fatigues, the men reposing under the shade, 
or bathing in the sparkling waters of the Shenandoah, and the 
horses feeding in the abundant pastures. The Saturday follow- 
ing the battlo; was proclaimed by General Jackson as a day of 
thanksgiving and prayer, and all the troops were called to join 
with their General and their chaplains, in praises to God for his 
deliverances. The next day, a geixsral communion was observed 
in the 3rd Virginia brigade, at which the Lord's supper was dis- 
pensed, in the wood, to a gi'eat company of Christian soldiers 
from all the army. At this solcnmity the General was present, 
as a worshipper, and modestly participated with his men in the 
sacred feast. The quiet diffidence with which he took the least 
obtrusive place, and received the sacred emblems from the hands 
of a regimental chaplain, was in beautiful contrast with the 
majesty and authority of his bearing in the crisis of battle. 

The following brief extract from his correspondence with his 
wife exhiljits the same humble and devout temper^ wliich ever 
characterized him • 

" Near Wier's Gate, June 14th. 

"Our God has thrown his shield over me in the various ap- 
parent dangers to which I have been exposed. This evening 
we have religious services in the army, for the purpose of ren- 
dering thanks to the Most High for the victories with which he 
has crowned our arms ; and my earnest prayer is that our ever 
kind Heavenly Father will continue to crown our arms with 
success, until our independence shall, through liis divine blessing, 
be established." 



TlUi EICHMOND CAMPAIGN. 431 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE RICHMOND CAMPAIGN. 

After the victory of TViucliester in May, General Jackson 
had requested his friend Hon. A. R, Boteler to represent to the 
authorities near Richmond, his desire for reinforcements, that 
he might carry the war toward the Federal Capital. " Tell 
them," said he, " that I have now fifteen thousand men. I should 
have forty thousand ; and with them I would invade the North." 
When this message was delivered to General Lee, the Com- 
mander-in-Chief, he replied : " But he must help me to drive 
these people away from Richmond first." Thus it appears that 
his sagacious mind had already formed the design of concentrat- 
ing the army of Jackson with his own, in order to take the ag- 
gressive against M'Clellan. Had the battle of Port Republic 
been a disaster, this would have been impossible, and Riclunond 
would probably have fallen into the hands of the assailants. 
As soon as the news of Jackson's victory there was received in 
Richmond, it was judged that the proper time had arrived for 
the gTcat movement. To make it successful, it was necessary to 
mask Jackson's removal from the Yalley, lest his enemies, lately 
defeated, should assail some vital point, and to coiitinue the 
diversion of General McDowell's army from a union with 
M'Clellan. To further these objects, a strong detachment, con- 
sisting of the brigades of Whiting, Hood, and Lawton, which 
made an aggregate of seven thousand men, was sent to Jackson 



432 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAIi JAOKSOX. 

hj tlic way of Lynchburg and Charlottesville. It was so ar- 
ranged that the captives from Port Republic on their way to the 
military prisons of Richmond, should meet all these troops upon 
the road ; and on their arrival there, General Lee dismissed the 
officers among them upon parole. He Imew that they would 
hasten to Washington and report what they had seen. The re- 
port of General M'Clcllan reveals the success of the expedient. 
He states that the answer made by Mr. Lincoln to the next of 
his repeated- requests for the co-operation of General M-Dowell, 
was the following : that ho could not now need that aid, inas- 
much as the army of General Lee was weakened by fifteen 
thousand men just sent to General Jacksoa, and the dangers of 
Washington City were to the same extent increased : (the Federal 
officers, with their customary exaggeration, had doubled the 
number of Jackson's reinforcements.) 

He, meanwhile, was deceiving the enemy in the Valley with 
equal adroitness. As soon as Colonel Munford established his 
cavalry at Harrisonburg, he sent him orders to arrest all transit 
up and down the Valley, and even to limit the communication 
between liis own troops on the outposts and the Confederate 
infantry, to the narrowest possible bounds ; so that no intelligence 
might steal through to the enemy. He also instructed him to 
press his outposts with energy against those of the enemy, and 
to drive him as far below as practicable. He desii'ed thus to 
produce in Fremont the persuasion, that the whole Confederate 
army was about to advance upon him, to improve its victory in 
that direction. Last, he requested Colonel Munford to do all ii| 
his power, by other means, to foster this belief. Opportunity was 
already provided for carrying out this order. As the advance 
of the Confederates pressed toward Fremont, they met, twelve 
miles north of Harrisonburg, a Federal flag of truce, in the hands 
of a major, followed by a long train of surgeons and ambulances 



FEDEEAL FLAG OP TRUCE. 4:33 

bringing a demand for tlie release of their wounded men. Col- 
onel Munford had required the train to pause at his outposts, 
and had brought the major, with one surgeon, to his quarters at 
Harrisonburg; where he entertained them with military courtesy, 
until their request was answered by the commanding General. 
He found them full of boasts and aj-roganco : they said that the 
answer to their flag was exceedingly unimportant, because Fre- 
mont and Shields were about to effect a junction, when they would 
recover, by force, all they had lost, and teach Jackson a lesson 
wliich would cure his audacity. When Colonel Munford received 
the instructions we "have mentioned, he called for Mr. William 
Gilmer of Albemarle, a gentleman of infinite spii'it and humor, 
who was serving with his young kinsman as an amateur trooper, 
and gave him his cue. He silently left the village, but presently 
returned, in very different fashion, as an orderly, with despatches 
from General Jackson and from Staunton. With an ostentatious 
clanking of spurs and sabre, he ascended to Colonel Munford's 
quarters, and knocked in a hurried manner. " Come in," said 
the gallant Colonel. "And what ansu^er do you bring, orderly, 
from General Jackson ? " At this word, the Yankee officers in 
the adjoining chamber were heard stealthily approaching the 
partition, for the purpose of eavesdropping. ^ " Why," said Gil- 
mer, " the General laughed at the demand for the surrender of 
the wounded prison'ers. He has no notion of it." "Do you 
bring any good news ? " asked the Colonel. " Glorious news," 
he answered. ." The road from Staunton this way is chock-full 
of soldiers, cannon, and wagons, come to reinforce Jackson in 
his march down the Valley. There is General Yf hiting. General 
Hood, General Lawton, and General I-don't-know-who. I never 
saw so many soldiers and cannon together in my life. People 
say there are thirty thousand of them." After a few such ques- 
tions and answers, framed for the edification of the eavesdroppers, 

55 



434 LIFE OP LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSON. 

Colonel Munford dismissed liim, and he descended, to fill the 
hotel and the town with his glorious news. The whole place 
was speedily in a blaze of joy and excitement. Citizens came to 
offer supplies for the approaching hosts ; and bullocks, flour, and 
bacon were about to be collected for them in delighted hasto. 
After leaving his guests to digest their contraband news, for 
several hours. Colonel Munford at length sent for them, and "told 
them that he had a reply from his General, respectfully declining 
to accede to their request ; so that nothing now remained but to 
send them back to their friends, in the same honor and safety in 
which they had come. They departed much humbler, and us 
they imagined, much wiser men. He pushed his advance soon 
after them, to New Market ; and upon their arrival at the quar- 
ters, of General Fremont near Mount Jackson, the Federal army 
precipitately broke up its camp, and retreated to Strasbourg; 
where they began busily to fortify themselves. The Confederate 
cavalry then drew a cordon of pickets across the country just 
above them, so strict that the befooled enemy never learned 
General Jackson's whole army was not on his front, until he 
discovered it by the disasters of M'Clellau. 

The larger part of the reinforcements sent from Richmond 
had halted near Staunton. On the evening of June 17th, Gene- 
ral Jackson began to move his troops from Mount Meridian, and 
leaving orders with his staff to send away the remainder the 
next morning, he went to the town to set the new brigades in 
motion. No man in the whole army knew wliither it was going. 
General Ewell, the second in command, was only instructed to 
move towards Charlottesville, and the rest were only ordered 
to follow him. Two marches brought them to the neighborhood 
of the latter town, where General Jackson rejoined them, and 
confiding to his chief of staff the direction of his movement, 
with striet injunctions of secrecy, departed by railroad, to hold 



VISITS EICHMOND. 435 

a preliminary conference with General Lee in Richmond. He 
directed that an advanced guard of cavalry should precede the 
army continually, and. prohibit all persons, whether citizens or 
soldiers, from passing before them toward Richmond. A rear- 
guard was to prevent all straggling backward, and when they 
encamped, all lateral roads were to be guarded, to prevent com- 
munication between the army and country. 

But on reaching Gordonsville, whither the brigade of General 
Lawton had gone by railroad, he was arrested for a day by a 
groundless rumor of the approach of the enemy from the Rappa- 
hannock. Then, resuming the direction of the troops, he pro- 
ceeded to a station called Frederickshall, fifty miles from 
Richmond, where he arrested his march to give the army its 
Sabbath rest. No General knew better than he, how to employ 
the transportation of a railroad in combination with the march- 
ing of an army. While the burthen trains forwarded his stores, 
he caused the passenger trains to proceed to the rear of his line 
of march, which was chosen near the railroad, and take up the 
hindmost of his brigades. These were forwarded, in a couple 
of hours, a whole day's march ; when they were set down, and 
tlie trains returned again, to take up the Mndmost, and give 
them a like assiitance. 

After a quiet Sabbath, the General rose at 1 o'clock a.m., and 
mounting a horse, rode express with a single courier, to Rich- 
mond. A few miles from his quarters, a pleasing evidence 
of the fidelity of his pickets was presented to him. He endea- 
vored to pass this outpost, first as an officer on military 
business, and then as an officer bearing important intelligence 
for General Lee. But the guard was inexorable, and declared 
that his instructions from General Jackson especially prohibited 
him to pass army men, as well as citizens. The utmost he 
would concede was, that the captain commanding the picket 



436 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

Bhould be called, and the appeal made to him. When he came, 
he recognized his General; who, praising the soldier for his 
obedience to instructions, bound them both to secrecy touching 
his journey. Having held the desired interview with the Com- 
mander-in-Chief, he returned the next day to the line of march 
pursued by his troops, and led them, the evening of June 25th 
to the village of Ashland, twelve miles north of Riclmiond. 
To understand the subsequent narrative, the reader must have 
• a brief explanation of the position of the two great armies. 
The Chickahominy Eiver, famous for the adventures and capture 
of Captain John Smith, in the childhood of Virginia, is a slug- 
gish stream of fifteen yards . width, which flows parallel to the 
James, and only five miles north of Richmond. It is bordered 
by extensive meadows, which degenerate in many places into 
marshes, and its bed is miry and treacherous ; so that it con- 
stitutes an obstacle to the passage of armies far more formida- 
ble than its insignificant width would indicate. During this 
year, especially, the excessive rains and repeated freshets had 
converted its little current into an important stream, its marshes 
into lakes, and it's rich, level cornfields into bogs. But at the 
distance of half a*mile from the channel, the country on each 
side rises into undulating hills, with farms interspersed irregu- 
larly among the tracts of forest, and the coppices of young pine. 
General M'Clellan, taking his departure from the White House, 
on the Pamunkcy, and using the York River Railroad as his line 
of supply, had pressed his vast army to the cast and north of 
Richmond. Its two wings, placed like the open jaws of some 
mighty dragon, the one on the north and the other on the south 
side of the Chickahominy, almost embraced the -northeast angle 
of the city. To connect them with each other, he had con- 
structed tlu"ee or four elaborate bridges across the stream, with 
causeways Icadmg to them, and along the length of the valley, 



THE BATTLES AROUND RICHMOND. 



437 




j/ifiomaitoXR 



CiTYPOlM," 



THE BATTLES AKOUND RICHMOND. 



438 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

by which he hoped to defy both mire and floods. On both 
sides, his front was so fortified with earthworks, abattis, and 
heavy artillery, that they could not be assailed, save with cruel 
loss. These works, on his left, were extended to the front of 
the battle-field of Seven Pines, and on his right to the hamlet of 
Mechanicsville ; which, seated upon the north bank of tlie Chick- 
ahominy, six miles fi'om Richmond, commanded the road thence 
to Hanover Court House. 

The Confederate army, now under the immediate order of 
General Eobei't E. Lee, confronted M'Clellan, and guarded the 
course of the Chickahominy, as high as the half sink farm, north- 
west of Richmond, where Brigadier-General Branch, of Major 
General A. P. Hill's division, was stationed within a few miles 
of Ashland. General Lee, after the battle of Seven Pines, had 
fortified his front, east of Richmond, in order that a part of his 
forces might hold the defensive against the Federal army; wliile, 
with the remainder, he attempted to turn its flank north of the 
Cliickahommy. To test the , practicability of this grand enter- 
prise, and to explore a way for General Jackson's proposed 
junction, he had caused General J. B. B. Stuart, of the cavalry 
to make his famous rcconnohsancc of the 12th of June; in which 
that daring officer had marched a detachment of cavalry from 
north to south around M'Clellan's whole rear, and had discov- 
ered that it was unprotected by works, or by proper disposition 
of forces, against the proposed attack. 

The conception of the Commander-in-Chief is thus developed 
in his own general order of battle, communicated to General 
Jackson. He was to march from Ashland on the 25th of June, 
to encamp for the night, west of the Central Railroad, and to 
advance at three A. M., on the2Gth, and turn the enemy's works 
at Mechanicsville, and on Beaver-Dam Creek, a stream flowing 
into the Chickahominy a mile in the rear of that hamlet, where 



HIS AEMY AT ASHLAND. 439 

he had a powerful reserve entrenched. Major-General A. P. 
Hill was to cross the Chickahommy, to the north side, at the 
meadow bridges, above Mechanicsville, and associating to him- 
self Branch's brigatlc, which was to advance so soon as the 
march of General Jackson opened a way for it, was to sweep 
down against the enemy's right. As soon as the Mechanics\dlle 
bridge should be uncovered, Long-street and D. H. Hill were 
to cross, the latter to proceed to the support of Jackson, and the 
former to that of A. P. Hill. The four commands were directed 
to sweep down the north side of the Chickahominy, toward the 
York River Railroad; Jackson on the left and in advance, 
Longstreet nearest the river and in the rear. Huger and 
Magrudcr were to hold their positions south of the Cliickahom- 
iny, against any assault of the enemy, to observe him closely, 
and to follow him should he retreat. General Stuart, with his 
cavalry, was tin-own out on Jackson's left, to guard his flank, and 
give notice of the enemy's movements. * 

The evening of June 25th found the army of General Jackson 
a few miles short of their appointed goal — at Ashland — instead 
of the line of the Central Railroad. The difficulties of handling 
so large a force with inexperienced subordinates, concurred with 
the loss of the bridges on his direct line of march, (lately burned 
by order of the Federalists,) to delay him thus much. No com- 
mander ever sympathized more fully with the spirit of Napo- 
leon's answer, when ho replied to one of his marshals, in view 
of a similar conlbination of his armies for a great battle : " Ask 
me for anything but time." Jackson's ardent soul, on fire with 
the grandeur of the operations before him, and with delight in 
their boldness and wisdom, and chafing at the delays of blunder- 
ing and incompetent agents, forbade rest or sleep for him on this 
important night. He deliberately devoted the whole of it to the 
review of his preparations, and to prayer. Rations were to be 



440 LIFE OP LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSON. 

distributed and prepared by the men for three days. The lead- 
ers of the different divisions, encamped around Ashland, were to 
be instructed in their routes, so that the several commands might 
take their places in the column without Confusion or delay. 
After all his staff were dismissed for a short repose, he still 
paced liis chamber in anxious thought, or devoted to wi'cstling 
with God the intervals between the visits of his officers. In the 
small hom's of the night, two of the commanders of divisions 
came to suggest that he should move the army by two columns, 
on parallel roads, instead of by one. He listened respectfully, 
but requested that they would await his decision until morning. 
Wlicn they left him, the one said to the other : " Do you know 
why General Jackson would not decide upon pur suggestion at 
once ? It vras because he has to pray over it, before he makes 
up his mind." A moment after, the second returned to Jackson's 
quarters to fetch his sword, which he had forgotten ; Jind, as he 
entered, found him upon his knees ! praying, doubtless, for Omni- 
scient guidance in all his responsible duties, for his men, and for 
his country. 

Notwithstanding his efforts, the army did not move until after 
sunrise; when, all being ready, it advanced' in gallant array 
toward the southeast, crossed the Central Railroad, and, meet- 
ing here and there the vigilant cavalry of General Stuart, which 
came in from the left at the cross-roads, approached the Pole- 
Green chiu'ch, a century before sanctified by the eloquence of 
the Rev. -Samuel Davies, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Jackson 
was now abreast of the enemy^s right flank at Mcchanicsville, 
and but a few miles north of it. Between him and the church 
was the Tottopottamoy, a little stream wliich still bears its Indian 
title. The pickets of M-'Clellan occupied the opposite bank, and 
had destroyed the light wooden bridge, and obstructed the road 
beyond with prostrate trees. The Texan brigade of Hood, wliich 



THE SEVEN days' FIGHT. 441 

was in front, deployed a few skirmishers, wlio speedily cleared 
the opposing bank with their unerring rifles; and the wood 
beyond was shelled by one of Whiting's batteries while the 
bridge was rapidly repaired. This initial cannonade was 
intended to subserve the additional purpose of a signal, by 
which the Confederates before Mechanicsville might be adver- 
tised of his presence. 

For many hours the brigades of A. P. Hill had been patiently 
awaiting the expected sound, before the enemy's works. They 
now pressed forward, and a furious cannonade opened on both 
sides. General Hill, supported by Ripley's brigade, of D. H. 
Hill's division, speedily carried the little village, with the field- 
works and camp of the enemy, while the latter retked a mile to 
the eastward, to their stronger lines upon Beaver-Dam Creek. 
Jackson's advance would in due time have turned this position, 
as it had' Mechanicsville, and would thus have given to the two 
Hills an easy conquest ; but the presence of the Commander-in- 
Chief and the President of the Confederate States upon the field, 
with their urgency that the place should be carried without 
delay, impelled them to the attack. The heroic troops pressed 
up to the stream, and held the nearer brink throughout the night, 
but could effect no lodgement within the hostile works ; and tlms, 
at nine o'clock; the caimonade died away, and the opposing 
forces lay down upon their arms, after a bloody and useless 
struggle. As General Jackson's forces passed the Pole-Green 
church, and went into camp a little below, at Hundley's Corner, 
the sound of the guns and the roar of the musketry told them 
that the gigantic struggle had begun. 

Thus opened the seven days' tragedy before Richmond. The 
demeanor of its citizens during the evening of June 26th, gave 
an example of their courage, and their faith in their leaders and 
their cause. For many weeks, the Christians of the city had 

56 



442 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

given themselves to prayer ; and they drew from heaven a sub- 
lime composure. The spectator parsing tlirough the streets saw 
tlic people calmly engaged in their usual avocations, or else 
wending their way to the churches, while the thunders of the 
cannon shook the city. As the calm summer evening descended, 
the family groups were seen sitting upon their door-steps, where 
mothers told the children at their knees, how Lee and his heroes 
were now driving away the invaders. The young people prome- 
naded the heights north of the town, and watched the distant 
shells bursting against the sky. At one church, a solemn caval- 
cade stood waiting ; and if the observer had entered, saying to 
himself: "This funeral reminds me that Death claims all seasons 
for his own, and refuses to postpone his dread rites for any in- 
ferior horrors," he would have found, a bridal before the altar. 
The heart of old Rome was not more assured and steadfast, 
when she sold at full price in her Forum, the fields on which the 
victorious Carthaginian was encamped. 

During the night, detachments of the enemy approached Gen- 
eral Jackson's camps at Hundley's corner, but were checked by 
Brockenborough's battery, and the 1st Maryland, 13th Vii'ginia, 
and Gth Louisiana regiments. At an early hour, the troops were 
put in motion, and speedily crossed the higher streams of the 
Beaver-Dam, thus turning the right of the enemy's position. 
Tlic way was now opened, by their retreat, for the advance 
of General D. II. Ilill, who crossing Jackson's line of march, 
passed to his front and left. The evacuation of the lines of 
Beaver-Dam also soon followed. At the dawn of day, the con- 
test between the Federal artillery there, and that of General A. 
P. Hill had been resumed ; but perceiving the divisions of Gen- 
eral Jackson approaching theii' rear, the enemy retreated pre- 
cipitately down the Chickahominy towards Cold Harbor, piu*- 
sued by Generals A. P. Hill and Lougstreet, burning vast 



MARCHES TO COLD HARBOR. 443 

quantities of army stores, and deserting many uninjured. As 
General Jackson approached Walnut Grove cliurch, he met the 
Commander-in-Chief;- and while he halted his column to receive 
his final instruction* from him, the gallant division of A. P. Hill 
filed past, in as perfect array as though they had been unscathed 
of battle. General Lee presuming that the Federalists would 
continue to withdraw, if overpowered, toward the York River 
Haikoad and the White House, dkected General Jackson to 
proceed, with General D. H. Hill, to a point a few miles north of 
Cold Harbor, and thence to march to that place, and strike 
their line of retreat. Two roads ted thither, the one direct, 
the other circuitous. The latter, which passed first eastward, 
and then southward, was the one which offered the desired route 
for General Jackson ; for the former would have conducted 
him to ground in the rear of the retreating army, already 
occupied by General A. P. Hill. General Jackson had selected 
young men of the vicinage, found in a company of cavalry near 
him, for guides. When he asked them the road to Cold Harbor, 
his habitual reticence, in this instance too stringent, withheld all 
explanation of his strategic designs. They therefore naturally 
pointed him to the direct and larger road, as the route to Cold 
Harbor. After marching for a mile and a half, the booming of 
cannon in his front caught his ear, and he demanded sharply of 
the guide near him : " Where is that firing ? " The reply was, that 
it was in the dkection of Games's Mill. "Does this road lead 
there ? " he asked. The guide told him that it led by Gaines's 
Mill to Cold Harbor. "But," exclaimed he, "I do not wish 
to go to Gaines's Mill. I wish to go to Cold Harbor, leaving 
that place to the right." " Then," said the guide, "the left-hand 
road was the one which should have been taken ; and had you 
let me know what you desked, I could have directed you aright 
at first." Nothing now remained, but to reverse the column, 



444 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

and return to the proper track. It was manifest that an hour 
ol" precious time must be lost in doing tliis, while the accelerated 
firing told that the battle was thickening in the front, and every 
heart trembled with the anxious fear lest tlie irreparable hour 
should be lost by the delay. But Jackson bore the same calm 
and assm-ed countenance, and when this fear was suggested to 
him, he replied: "No, let us trust that the providence of our 
God Avill so overrule it, that no miscliief shall result." Nor 
was he mistaken in this confidence ; for the time thus allowed to 
General D. H. Hill enabled him to reach the desired point of 
meeting north of Cold Harbor, just in front of Jackson, and 
brought them into precise conjunction. They then turned to the 
right and moved directly toward the supposed position of the 
enemy, with the division of Hill in front, followed by those of 
Ewcll, Whiting, and Jackson in the order of thcii' enumeration. 
After passing Cold Harbor, and arresting at that spot a few 
Federal carriages, they perceived the enemy about a half mile 
, southward, drawn up in battle array, and fronting to the north. 
General Jackson, with a numerous suite, rode forward to observe 
their position ; and at his suggestion a battery from Hill's di- 
vision was posted opposite to them. But before they began to 
fire, several Federal batteries opened upon them a furious .can- 
nonade, by which the Generals were speeii^ly driven to a distant 
part of tlic field, and the Confederate guns were silenced, after 
a gallant but unequal contest of half an hour. 

It was now two o'clock in |;he afternoon. The fu'ing west 
of Cold Harbor told that General A. P. Hill was fully engaged 
with the enemy there. In • fact, he was fighting single-handed, 
the whole centre of the opposing host. For a time. General 
Jackson held his troops bade in the margin of the wood's looking 
toward the highway, and along the line of their march, in tho 
hope that the enemy, retreating before Generals A. P. Hill and 



m'clellan's position. 445 

Longstreet; would expose their flank to a crusliing blow from 
him. But the iiring on his right began evidently to recede, 
showing that Hill, instead of driving the savage game into his 
toils, was giving way before their overpowering numbers. He 
then determined to bring his whole infantry into action. As- 
signing to General D. H. Hill the extreme left, he placed 
General Ewell's division next him,, and sent orders to Generals 
Whiting and Lawton, and to the Brigadiers of his own- original 
division, whicli brought up the rear, to form for battle along the 
road by which they were marching, and then moving in echelon, 
beginning on the left, to feel for the position of the enemy and 
engage him." The topography was unknown to Jackson and to his 
subordinates, the forests forbade a connected view of the country, 
and no time was left for reconnoissances. Nothing remained, 
therefore, but to move toward the firing, and engage the foe 
wherever he was found. 

The expectations that the Federalists would continue their 
retreat, when hard pressed, toward the White House, was 
erroneous. Their commander proposed to himself another ex- 
pedient : to concentrate his troops on the south of the Chicka- 
hominy, and relinquishing liis connections with the York River, to 
open for himself communications with the River James below 
Riclmiond, now accessible to his fleets up to Drewry's Bluffs. 
Accordingly, his present purpose was to stand at bay upon the 
northern bank of the former stream, until he could withdraw his 
troops across it in safety. He chose, for this end, a strong position, 
covering two of his military bridges, and confronting with a con- 
vex array, the Confederates who threatened him from the north 
and west. His right, or eastern wing occupied an undulating 
plateau, protected in front by thickets of pine and the rude fences 
of the country, and presenting numerous commanding positions 
for artillery. In front of that wing a sluggish rivulet, speedily 



446 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

degenerated into a marsh, tliickset "^itb briers and brushwood, 
stretched away to the cast, affording a seeming protection to tliat 
flank. An interval of a few hundred yards in front of his right 
was unprotected by any such obstruction ; but the fields were here 
swept by a powerful artillery. And as his line passed westward, 
another rivulet commenced its course, and flowed in front of Ms 
whole centre and left wing, in an opposite direction to the first, 
until, merging itself into Powhite Creek, it passed into the Chicka- 
hominy above. His centre was enveloped in a dense forest, 
which, with the marshy stream in front, precluded the use of artil- 
lery by the assailants. His left was posted in a belt of woodland, 
which descended with a steep inclination from the plateau to a 
deep and narrow gully, excavated for itself by tlie rivulet. 
Thi'ce formidable lin"bs of infantry held this hill-side, the first 
hidden in the natural ditch at its bottom, the second beliind a 
strong barricade of timber a little above, and the third near the 
top. The brow of the eminence was crowned with numerous 
batteries, which screened by the narrow zone of trees, commanded 
every approach to the position. Last, ar number of heavy, rifled 
cannon upon the heights south of the Chickahominy, protected 
the extreme left, and threatened to enfilade any troops advancing 
across the open country to the attack. These formidable disposi- 
tions were 'only disclosed to the Confederates by their actual 
onset, so that manoeuvre was excluded, and the only resort was 
to stubborn courage and main force. And it was only on General 
Jackson's extreme left, that the Confederate artillery could find 
any position, from which the enemy could be reached cficctively. 
The front upon which tlicsc two great armies were to contend 
was less than three miles in extent. Hence, as the brigades of 
Longstreet and A. P. Hill from the Confederate right, and of D. 
H. Hill and Jackson from the left, moved into the combat on con- 
vergent radii, tlicy formed, in many places, an ordor of battle two 



BATTLE OF CHICKAHOMINY, 



447 




BATTLE OF CHICKAHOMIMT. 



448 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

or three lines deep ; and those first engaged were supported by 
those ■which arrived later. 

The road along which General Jackson drew up his line for 
1 attic, made with the enemy's front an angle of forty or fifty 
'cgrecs.. Hence, the troops toward the right had the longer arc 
1.) traverse, in reaching the scene of combat, and all were required 
to incline toward their left, in order to confront the enemy. 
General D. H. Hill, on the Confederate left, moved first, and was 
soon furiously engaged. For two or tlu-ee hours he struggled 
with the enemy with wavering fortunes, unable to rout them, but 
winning some ground, which he stubbornly held against a terrible 
artillery and musketry fire. General Ewcll moved next, with one 
brigade upon the left, and two upon the right of the road which 
led from Gaines's Mill toward the Federal left. Crossing the 
marsh, ho ascended the opposing hill-side, and engaged the enemy 
in the forest. Before their terrific fii-e. General Blzej, command- 
ing his left brigade, fell severely wounded, and Colonel Seymour, 
commanding the Louisiana brigade of Taylor, was slain. Whole 
regiments were killed, wounded, or scattered, under this leaden 
tempest ;' but still their dauntless General rallied his fainting 
men, repaired his line, and held all his ground against the double 
and triple lines of the enemy ; until just as his ammunition was 
exhausted, welcome succors arrived under General Lawtou. 

•One cause of delay in the arrival of the remaining troops has 
already been seen, in the larger -^pacc which they were required 
to pass over in order to reach the enemy. Another, and a more 
dangerous one, arose out of a fatal misconception of General 
Jackson's orders by his messenger. Communicating to all the 
commanders in the rear of Ewell the plan for their advance, he 
had concluded by instructing them to await farther orders before 
engaging the enemy ! But another officer of the staff, compre- 
hending better the General's true intentions, and tlie urgency of 



D. H. HILL ENGAGES A BATTERY. 4A9 

tlie occasion, corrected tlie error, and at length moved the 
rGmaining brigades into action. Their leaders could learn 
nothing of the country, to which they were all strangers ; and 
their movements were partially concealed from each other by 
the numerous tracts of coppice and forest. Hence, instead of 
advancing toward the enemy in parallel lines, they unconsciously 
crossed each other ; and several of them, at last, went into action 
far aside from the points at which they were expected to strike. 
But the Providence of that God to whom their General ever 
looked, guided them aright to the places where their aid was 
most essential. 

The Stonewall Brigade, under General Winder, was next the 
last in the lino of march, and should therefore have formed 
almost the extreme right of General Jackson's battle. Their 
General, so soon as he comprehended the error of the instruc- 
tions which held him inactive, advanced with chivalrous zeal. 
But his neighbors on the left, with whom he should have con- 
nected "his right, having already passed out of sight in the 
thickets, he had no other guide than the din of the battle. Feel- 
ing Ins way rapidly toward this, he passed transversely from 
right to left, across the ground over which the corps had already 
swept, and found himself behind the struggling line of D. H. Hill. 
This indomitable soldier was just devising, with his two Briga- 
diers, Garland and Anderson, upon his left, a daring movement, 
to break the stubborn resistance of the Federalists. Garland 
proposed to swing around their extreme right with his brigade ; 
and, taking them in reverse, to charge with the bayonet, while 
the rest of the division renewed their attack in front. One 
formidable obstacle existed : a hostile battery at that extremity 
of the field tln'catened to enfilade his ranks while marching to 
the attack. To obviate this danger. Hill determined to storm 
the battery with five regiments ; but only one — that of Colonel 
67 



450 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

Ivcr.son, of North Carolina — arrived at it. He "was severely 
"wounded; and, after ten minutes, his men were driven from it 
by ovcrpo"wcring numbers ; but this " interval, during "which its 
guns "were silenced, was decisive. For, meantime. Winder had 
advanced the famed Stonc"wall Brigade, in perfect order,* had 
rallied to him all the shattered regiments of Elzey and Hill 
which ho found lurking under cover, or "waging a defensive 
struggle ; and no"w s"wept "with an imposing line and a thundering 
cheer across the whole 'plateau occupied by the enemy's right. 
Garland and Anderson dashed simultaneously upon their flank ; 
the contested battery was in an instant captured a second time ; 
and the whole wing of the Federal army, with their reinforce- 
ments, hurled back into the swamps of the Chickaliominy. There 
they b)roke into a scattered rabble in the approaching darlmess, 
and crouched behind the trees, or found their way across the 
stream to their friends. This brilliant movement, with simulta- 
neous successes upon other parts of the field, decided the day. 
Nowhere were the panic and confusion of the beaten army 
more utter than here. The fields which were the scene- of 
this terrific struggle composed the farms of two respectable 
citizens, named Maghee. The one of these farthest in the Fede- 
ral rear was spectator of their rout. Regiments sent over by 
M'Clellan to support the wavering battle were seen to pause, 
even before they came under fire; to break, without firing a 
musket ; and to throw away their arms, and fly to the swamp. 
As ordnance wagons and ambulances galloped toward the scene 
of action, they were arrested by the frantic fugitives, who snatched 
the animals from them, and, mounting two or three on each, fled 
toward the bridge, leaving ammunition and wounded comrades 
to their fate. One officer was seen, delirious with tcrroi", with 
his hat in one hand, and his empty scabbard in the other, scrcam- 
'wYX. as he ran: "Jackson is coming! Jackson is coming 1" 



THE ENEMY GIVE "WAY. 451 

Indeed, the baseness of the Northern soldiery was shown by the 
-fact that, throughout this battle, it was usually the supporting 
regiments in the rear, unscathed as yet, which gave way iii^st ; 
while the resistance was sustained by the old United States 
regulars of Sykes and Porter in the front. In the volunteer 
regiments, the " will of the majority," which was usually a 
determination to retire at the critical moment, was sometimes 
expressed against the authority of the officers by a formal popu- 
lar vote. To the entreaties of their commanders their answers 
were: ""We 're tired out fighting;" "Got no more ammunition;" 
" Guess the. rebels will be down to them bridges soon." And so 
they broke away, and the rout was propagated from the rear to 
the front. 

The two other brigades of Jackson's old division, the 2nd and 
3rd Virginia, under the lead of Colonels Cunningham and Fulk- 
erson, also advanced with spirit as soon as they received correct 
orders. Having met messengers from the Commander-in-Chief, 
and General A. P. Hill, they obtained more correct guidance, 
and advanced to the Confederate right. The second brigade 
supported Brigadier-General R. II. Anderson, near General 
Longstreet's extreme right. Just as they arrived, the troops 
of Anderson were giving ground momentarily before the enemy. 
Colonel Cunningham proposed to take the front, and give him 
an opportunity to reform behind his lines; but the gallant 
Carolinian insisted upon completing his own work. The shout 
was raised ; " Jackson's men are here," and his regiments 
answering with a cheer, rushed forward again, and swept all 
before them, leaving to the Virginians little more to do than to 
fire a parting volley. In like manner, the third brigade rein- 
forced the line of A. P. Hill, near the centre, but only arrived 
in time to see the enemy give way before Whiting's division, 
which had come earlier to its help. As Colonel Fulkerson 



452 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENEBAL JACKSON. 

advanced to relievo these "vvearied and decimated troops of the 
labors of the pursuit, the retreating enemy fired a last volley, by 
which lie was mortally wounded. In him General Jackson lost 
an able and courageous subordinate, who had proved himself 
equal to every task imposed upon him. Had he lived, the highest 
distinction must have crowned his merits ; for his judgment, dili- 
gence and talent for command, were equal to his heroic courage. 

Just before the three original brigades of Jackson, had 
marched the Georgia brigade of Lawton, nearly four thousand 
strong. The time had now come for them to fight their maiden 
battle. As they advanced towards the enemy's centre, they 
unconsciously crossed the line of march just before pursued by 
General Whiting, and passing under a severe fire from a battery 
upon the plateau near Maghee's they crossed the marsh, and 
entered the wood in rear of General Ewell, passing between two 
regiments which had retired from the contest after exhausting 
their ammunition. Here the brigade was thrown into line, and 
advanced fii-ing, with imposing force. Their appearance was most 
timely ; for the shattered remnant with which Ewell still stood 
at bay, were firing their last rounds of cartridges. As the grim 
veteran saw this magnificent line of thirty-five hundred bayonets 
sweeping tln-ough the woods, he waved his sword with enthusi- 
asm and shouted; '-'Huzza for Georgia!" Lawton, receiving 
directions from him, pressed forward with a steady advance, 
drove the enemy's centre from the woods, into the open fields, 
nearer the river, and connecting with D. II. Hill and "Winder 
on his left, assisted them in sweeping the Federalists, at night- 
fall, into the swamps. 

But the most brilliant achievement of the day was reserved 
for tlic division of General Whiting, consisting of the Mississippi 
brigade of Colonel Law, and the Texan brigade of General 
Hood. In Jackson's initial order of battle, they filled the space 



HIS DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARGE. 453 

between Ewell and Lawton, thus being the .third division, count- 
ing from the left. "Whiting, after being sorely embarrassed by 
the confused and erroneous instructions received, was properly 
informed of General Jackson's wishes, and put his two brigades in 
motion. Before they had advanced far, he met the Commander- 
in-Chief, who directed him to the part of the field held, at the 
beginning of the battle, by A. P. Hill. Passing through the 
forest from which this General had already driven the enemy, 
he emerged into a broad, open field, in front of that ravine and 
gully, which have already been described as covering the left- 
centre, and left of the Federal army. Farther toward the 
Confederate right, Longstreet was bringing up his division 
simultaneously, to storm this desperate line; and, after other 
brigades had recoiled, broken by a fire under which it seemed 
impossible that any troops could live, was just sending in his 
never-failing reserve, Pickett's veteran brigade. These troops*, 
after advancing heroically over the shattered regiments of their 
friends, within point blank range of the triple lines before them, 
unfortunately paused to return the fire of the concealed enemy. 
The entreaties of their officers to charge bayonets were unheard 
amidst the terrific roar of musketry. It was as they stood thus, 
decimated at every volley, unable to advance, but too courageous 
to flee, that the brigades of Hood and Whiting were launched 
against the Federal Imes on the left. The charge may be best 
described in the language of General Jackson himself 

" Advancing thence, through a number of retreating and dis- 
ordered regiments, he came within range of the enemy's fire ; 
who, concealed in an open wood, and protected by breastworks, 
poured a destructive fire, for a quarter of a mile, into his advanc- 
ing line ; under which many brave officers and men fell. Dash- 
ing on with unfaltering step, in the face of these murderous 
discharges of canister and musketry. General Hood and Colonel 



454 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSO^^ 

Law, at the heads of their respective brigades, rushed to the 
charge with a yell. Moving down a precipitous ravine, leaping 
ditch and stream, clambering up a difficult ascent, and exposed 
to an incessant and deadly fire from the entrcncliments, these 
bravo and determined men pressed forward, driving the enemy 
from his well-selected and fortified position. 

'• In this charge, in which upwards of a thousand men fell, 
killed and wounded, before the fire of the enemy, and in which 
fourteen pieces of artillery and nearly a regiment were captured, 
the fourth Texas, under the lead of General Hood, was the first 
to pierce these strong-holds and seize the guns." . . . . " The 
shouts of triumph which rose from our brave men as they, 
unaided by artillery, had stormed this citadel of their strength, 
were promptly carried from line to line, and the triumphant 
issue of this assault, with the well-directed fire of the batteries, 
and successful charges of Hill and Winder upon the enemy's 
right, determined the fortunes of the day. The Federalists, 
routed at every point, and aided by the darkness of the night, 
escaped across the Chickahominy." 

The next morning, as Jackson inspected this position, and saw 
the deadly disadvantages under which the Texans had carried it, 
he exclaimed ; " These men are soldiers indeed ! " Here, and in 
front of Pickett's charge near by, all the Confederate dead were 
on the north side of the gorge. Just as soon as the enemy saw 
them determined to advance, in spite of their fire, and the first 
line was dislodged from the channel of the rivulet in front, the 
other two lines incontinently fled from their barricades, although 
well able still to have repulsed the sliattcrcd assailants twice 
over ; nor did the artillery hold their ground with more firmness 
upon the brow of the ascent. But now, as tlie troops of Long- 
street and Whiting drove the tlrrong of their foes from cover 
into the open fields, they speedily reaped a bloody revenge for 



DIRECTS THE PURSUIT. 455 

all previous losses. The Federal infantry, resigning all thought 
of battle, fled across the fields or huddled together iu the open 
vales, where the furious Confederates mowed them down by 
hundreds. The Federal artillery flying to another position a 
few hundred yards in the rear, opened upon retreating friends 
and advancing foes, distinguished nothing in the gathering gloom ; 
and as the victors rushed upon the guns again, they drove before 
them as a living shield, a confused herd of fugitives, whose bodies 
received the larger part of the volleys of canister. 

During the afternoon. General Jackson, with his escort, occu- 
pied a position near Cold Harbor, where five roads met, in the 
rear of his left centre. Ignorant of the delay which had kept his 
reserves for two hours out of the strife, and of its unlucky cause, 
he grew more and more anxious as the sun approached the hori- 
.zon, and the sustained firmg told him that the enemy was 
nowhere broken. Sending first for Stuart, he suggested to him 
a vigorous charge of cavaliy; but this was relinquished as 
impracticable. His gigantic spirit was manifestly gathering 
strength, and its rising tides were chafing stormily against their 
obstacles. Riding restlessly to and fro to the different points of 
interest, he issued his orders in a voice which rang with the 
deadly clang of the rifle, rather than the sonorous peal of the 
clarion. Cheek and brow were blazing with the crimson blood, 
and beneath the vizor of his old drab cap, his eye glared with a 
fire, before which every other eye quailed. But a half hour of 
sunlight now remained. Unconscious that his veteran brigades 
were but now reaching the ridge of battle, he supposed that all 
his force had been put forth, and (Avhat had never happened 
before) the enemy was not crushed. It was then that he de- 
spatched messengers to all the commanders of his divisions, with 
these words: "Tell them this affair must hang in suspense no 
longer; sweep the field with the bayonet." The ofiicers darted 



45 G LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

away with their messages ; but before they reached the line, the 
ringing cheers, rising from every side out of the smoking woods, 
told that his will was anticipated, and the day was won. At 
this sound, no elation lighted up his features, but subduing the 
tempest of his passion, he rode calmly forward, to direct the 
pursuit of the enemy. 

In this battle, General Jackson employed little artillery. 
Upon his wing a few of the batteries of D. IT. Hill were put 
in action at the extreme left, with small effect at first, upon the 
enemy's fii'e. Later in the day, Major Pelham, of Stuart's horse- • 
artillery, whose splendid courage Jackson then first witnessed 
took position in front of. Cold Harbor, with two guns, and 
engaged the Federal batteries which obstructed the movements 
of Hill. One of liis pieces was speedily disabled ; but with the 
other, he continued the unequal duel to the close of the day. At 
sunset, the batteries upon the extreme left were reinforced 
by those of Courtenay and Brockenborough. Thirty guns now 
opened upon the retreating enemy, and contributed much to 
his final discomfiture. 

In the battle of Chickahominy, the Confederates used about 
forty thousand men, of whom twenty thousand belonged to the 
command of General Jackson, exclusive of the division of D. H. 
Hill, temporarily associated with it. General M'Clellan asserted 
that he had but thirty-six thousand men engaged. The length 
of his triple lines of battle, and the superior numbers met by the 
Confederates at every point, show that if this statement was 
correct, it excluded the reserves engaged at the close of the day ; 
and if a similar subtraction were made on the other side, their 
numbers also would be reduced far below that amount. General 
Lee declared that the principal part of the Federal army was 
engaged. When it is remembered that this force embraced all 
of their regulars, and that the adroit use of the position selected 



THE ENEMY CROSS THE CHICKAHOMINT. 457 

by M'Glcllan debarred the Confederates from the employment 
of artillery, \\-hile it exposed them on both wings to that power- 
ful iitplement of war, their victory will be received as a glorious 
proof of their prowess. They captured twenty-five pieces of 
artillery, and more than four thousand prisoners ; while the field 
showed that the carnage among the Federalists was considerably 
heavier than among the patriots. The victory was purchased by 
a loss of five hundred and eighty-nine men killed on the field, 
two thousand sis hundred and seventy-one wounded, and twenty- 
four missing, in Jackson's corps. In the other divisions engaged, the 
loss was also heavy. Several circumstances made the price paid 
for the splendid advantages of this achievement, heavier than it 
might have been, and the fruits more scanty. Of these, the one 
most worthy of the attention of the Confederates, because sus- 
ceptible of a remedy, was the lack of a competent general Staff, 
by which the plans of the Commander-in-Chief might be carried 
out with accuracy, and unity of action secured. Next, it should 
be remarked, that the generals were possessed of no topographi- 
cal surveys, and were therefore compelled to manceuvre their 
troops without any acquaintance with the ground, in an intricate 
country, obscured by woodlands, and devoid of any elevated 
points of view. The whole space over which Jackson's troops 
moved, was occupied by a succession of thickets of pine, and 
insignificant farms ) so that scarcely anyv/here did two brigades 
move in sight of each other, and an advance of a quarter of a 
mile invariably hid them from view.. It was vain therefore, for 
the General to depend upon his own eyes; and with a scanty 
and ill-organized staff, he had no means of knowing, for a consid- 
erable time, whether his orders were executed or not. 

On the morning of Saturday, June 28tli, there was not a Fed- 
eral soldier in arms north of the Chickahominy. The two 
bridges by which M'Clellan had retreated were jealously guarded 

58 



458 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

by liis sliarpshooters, and by commanding batteries upon the 
southern hciglits, which forbade their passage, save at an expense 
of blood too great to be contemplated. Ewell's division, with 
the cavalry of Stuart, marched, early in the morning, for tlie 
York River Railroad ; which they occupied without opposition, at 
Dispatch Station. The enemy thereupon retreated to the south 
side of the river, and burned the railroad bridge, while General 
Ewcll destroyed a part of the track. Stuart, pursuing a detach- 
ment of cavalry toward the White House, found all the Stations 
in flames, including the dwelling and farm buildings of General 
Lee, at the latter place, and a vast amount of military stores dc- 
stroved. It was now manifest from the enemy's own act, that 
this line of. retreat was finally surrendered. Two other alterna- 
tives remained to him: one was to cross the Chickahominy 
below, by the Williamsburg road and the neighboring ways; 
the other, to turn to the river James. To prevent the adoption 
of the former. General Ewell was ordered to guard Bottom's 
bridge, the next below tho railroad, while the cavalry watched 
the lower course of the stream. To resist the latter, General 
Holmes's division was directed to watch the roads leading to- 
ward the James, with a portion of the cavalry, while Generals 
Ma'oTuder and Huger guarded his front, and stood prepared to 
press the Federalists upon the first appearance of retreat. The 
Confederate forces upon the north bank of the Chickahominy 
remained there until their purposes were developed. 

M'Clellan, although still superior to Lee in numbers and Tna- 
teriel of war, was now in a situation which might well excite his 
solicitude. His vast army, cut off from its established line of 
supplies, must either move at once or starve. Before him, and 
on both his flanks was a determined and victorious foe. Behind 
him was a forest country, possessing few good roads, and inter- 
sected by sluggish water-courses, which the unprecedented rains 



DESTRUCTION OF AMMUNITION BY THE FEDERALS. 459 

liad this year converted into swamps. But the* forests were, Ija 
another aspect, his friends ; for they concealed his designs and 
prevented the watching of his movements. .One vigorous day's 
march, moreover, would bring him to his powerful fleet, which 
would give him a secure refuge and the needed supplies. Satur- 
day evening, there were manifest signs of movement behind the 
Federal entrenchments, and Sunday morning they were aban- • 
doned, and the bridges across the Chickahominy were broken 
down. General Longstreet now marched to the south side by 
the New Bridge J but the Grapevine Bridge opposite General 
Jackson's position was so destroyed that the pioneers consumed 
nearly the whole day in repairing it. Late in the afternoon, the 
Stonewall Brigade, with the General and his Staff, passed over, 
and inspected the country. At the Trent farm near by, were 
extensive bowers, ingeniously woven, of cedar boughs, which had 
surrounded the headquarters where M'Clellan had recently re- 
sided, in a village of canvas, provided with every appliance of 
luxury. Here also was his telegraph ofidce, whence lines di- 
verged to each corps of his army and to Wasliington, with the 
floor littered with the originals of those fictitious despatches, 
with which his Government was wont to delude its people. A 
little farther, General Jackson found the forces of General Ma-' 
gruder, with the Commander-in-Chief, watching .the retreating 
enemy ; and, it was agreed, after consultation, that the evening 
was too far advanced for an effective movement, and that Gene- 
ral Jackson should return to his bivouac, and commence his 
march in pursuit at dawn the next morning. As he rode across 
the fields this evening, he witnessed a spectacle of inexpressible 
grandeur. The attention was attracted toward the east by the 
roar of an invisible railroad train, which seemed to be rushing 
toward the Chickahommy, far beyond the distant woods, with a 
speed which was constantly accelerated until it became frightful. 



4:60 LIFE OP LIEDT.-GENEKAL JACKSON. 

Suddenly, as the beliolders were speculating upon the cause of tliid 
sound, a vast pillar of white smoke was seen to spring upwards 
into the sky, which rose higher and higher, and continually 
unfolded itself from within, in waves of snowy vapor, until it 
filled that quarter of the heavens. And, a moment after, the 
atmosphere, slower than the sunbeams, brought to the car an 
astounding explosion, in which a multitude of nearly simulta- 
neous thunder-claps were mingled into a roar louder than can- 
non. The explanation was learned afterwards. The retreating 
foe had loaded a train with a vast bulk of ammunition, and, 
tiring the engine to its most intense heat, had launched it from 
Savage's Station, without a guide, with a slow match lighted. 
Just as it plunged into the Chickahominy, at the chasm where 
the bridge had lately been, the powder caught ; and ammunition, 
engine, and carriages were blown into one huge wreck. 

This was not the only form of destruction which the Federal- 
ists employed to prevent their enemies from profiting by the 
spoils. Their industry in attempting to demolish was equal to 
the haste of their flight. The whole country was full of deserted 
plunder ; and this, indeed, was equally true of the tracts over 
which they had been driven on the north side of the river, from 
Mechanicsville downward. Army wagons and pontoon trains, 
partially burned or crippled ; mounds of grain and rice, and hil- 
locks of mess-beef smouldering ; tens of thousands of axes, picks, 
and shovels ; camp-kettles gashed with hatchets ; medicine-wagons 
with theu' drugs stirred into foul medley ; and all the apparatus 
of a vast and lavish host, encumbered the roads ; while the mu*c 
under foot was mixed with blankets lately ciew, and overcoats 
torn in twain from the waist up. For weeks afterwards, the 
agents of the army were busy gathering in the spoils ; while a 
multitude of the country people found in them partial indemnity 



TAKES MANY PRISONERS. 461 

for the ruin of their farms. Great stores of fixed ammunition 
were saved, while more was destroyed. 

Scarcely had General Jackson returned to the northern bank, 
when a rapid outbreak of firing told that General Magruder had 
attacked the enemy near Savage's station. Here were the last 
entrenchments behind which M'Clellan could stand at bay. By 
a vigorous attack in flank and front, he was driven out of them 
just at sunset, and pursued for a short space with great slaughter. 
The sound of this combat kindled again in Jackson's heart the 
fire of battle, and as he lay down under the open sky for a short 
repose, he gave orders that everything should be ready to move 
in pursuit at the earliest dawn. At midnight, however, a sudden 
shower awoke him, and finding himself wet through, he deter- 
mined to sleep no more, but to precede the troops to the posi- 
tion of General Magruder, in order to have time for fuller 
conference. When the head of his column, composed again of 
the division of D. H. Hill, reached the scene of the evening's 
combat, the General was found drying himself by a camp-fire. 
"Without procuring any food or refreshment, he now advanced 
through the troops of Magruder, and took the old highway which 
led to "Williamsburg. When the station near Savage's came in 
view, a city of canvas was seen upon a distant hill-side, glitter- 
ing in the morning sun. This was a vast field-hospital of 
]\rClellan, where twenty-five hundred sick and wounded, with 
tlieii' nurses, had been left by him to the care of the Confed- 
erates. General Jackson, having sent a suitable officer to 
receive the submission of these, advanced rapidly upon the 
enemy's traces. At every step the Federal stragglers issued 
from the thickets, and submitted themselves as prisoners of war, 
until a thousand additional men were sent to the rear. A vast 
drove of mules deserted by the Federal army, was gathered 
from the woods. Every hut and dwelling near the roadside 



462 ..rE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

was also converted into a refuge for the wounded, whose 
numbers showed the sanguinary nature of the struggle of the 
previous evening. An ofSccr congratulating the General upon 
the great number of his prisoners, said jocularly, that they 
surrendered too easily, for the Confederacy would be embar- 
rassed with their maintenance. He answered, smiling ; " It is 
cheaper to feed them, than to fight them." 

Before reaching White Oak Swamp, an inconsiderable stream 
which crossed the road, he diverged toward the right in the 
direction of the Court House of Charles' City County, pursuing 
still the wrecks of the enemy's flight. It now became manifest 
that he had relinquished all thought of a retreat toward York- 
town, and had turned decisively toward the river James. To 
explain the subsequent movements, the disclosure of ]\I^Clellan';' 
plans, still doubtful to the Confederate commander, must be a 
little anticipated. His purpose was to collect his army and all 
its apparatus upon the bank of the James, at some point below 
the mouth of the Appomattox: where the greater width and 
depth of the stream would cnabtc his great fleets to approach 
him with convenience, and manceu\Te for his defence. To dis- 
encumber the roads leading directly thither, and leave them free 
for the march of his columns, he sent his whole baggage trains 
down the way which Jackson had now reached, leading from the 
neighborhood of Savage's Station on the railroad, to Charles 
City Court House. Having followed this route until they were 
efiFectually protected, they made their way across from this 
thoroughfare, to the deep water at Harrison's Landing. To 
protect them, Franklin's corjis was stationed on the eastern bank 
of White OalcSwamp ; and when Jackson reached it, he stub- 
bornly contested its passage with him during the whole of Mon- 
day, June 30th. On the other hand, the corps of Keyes, from 
M'Clellan's left, with the beaten troops of Porter, were rapidly 



m'clellan's dispositions. 463 

marcliod to Malvern Hill, a range of highlands accessible by the 
shortest march from the southern end of the Federal line, and 
overlooking at once the river James, and the New Market, or 
river road, which leads from the city of Richmond down its 
northern side. The object of this movement on the part of 
i\I'GlelIan, was to protect his communications with the deep 
water from an advance down the New Market road, wliicli he had 
good reason to fear. The remainder of his great army was 
massed on Monday midway between the White Oak Swamp 
and Malvern Hill, under Generals Heintzelman and M'Call, to 
watch the i;oads going eastward; by which the Confederates 
might insimiate themselves between his right and left, and pur- 
sue his baggage trains. These judicious dispositions, made in a 
forest country, and chiefly by night marches, were not immediate- 
ly disclosed in all their details to the Confederate leader. But 
his troops were now directed, with a masterly and comprehensive 
foresight, to meet every contingency, in such sort that had all his 
purposes been carried out, the adroit concealments of his adver- 
sary would have been vain. Major General Holmes was ordered 
to cross from the south bank of the river James, which he had 
been left to guard, on the 29th, and march down the New Market 
road, to prevent the enemy from reaching the water. He did 
not approach Malvern Hill until the 30th, when he found it al- 
ready powerfully occupied by the enemy under Keyes and 
Porter, crowned by a formidable artillery, and flanked by gun- 
boats in the river. Early on the 29th Major-Generals Long- 
street and A. P. Hill were directed to cross the Chickaliomiuy 
at the New Bridges, and march eastward by the Darby-town 
road, a highway parallel to the New Market road, and north of it. 
Major-Gcnerals Huger and Magruder were directed to press the 
enemy in front, by the road leading direct from Richmond to 
Charles Cityj while Jackson was to advance rapidly upon the 



464 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

left, scour the soutli side of the Chickaliominy, and endeavor to 
attain the enemy's rear. 

Longs trcet and A. P. Hill, who moved first on tlie 29lh, first 
( arae up witli the enemy's centre, upon the 30th, posted a little 
: (.'.low the termination of the Darby-town road. Magruder, who 
advanced by the same road, was diverted by a request of General 
Holmes for reinforcements ; and, thus unfortunately, was turned 
aside from the centre, where a fatal blow was practicable, toward 
the heights of Malvern Hill, which were now unassailable ; and 
did not retrace his steps until the day was decided. But Gen- 
eral linger still remained to support the attack of Longstreot 
and Hill upon the right; and General Jackson, on the othtr 
hand, if able to force his passage across White Oak Swamp, 
would have found himself upon the enemy's flank and rear. 
Such was the attitude of the respective parties at mid-day of 
Jane 30th. 

When Jackson approached the stream last named, at this 
hour, he found in the fields near it, extensive camps deserted, 
and full of spoils, and another field-hospital crowded with 
wounded. The hills descended by long and gentle declivities 
on both sides toward the little water-course, and- the meadows 
along its margin were soft and miry from the recent rains. On 
the Confederate side, the right of the road was occupied by the 
open fields of an extensive farm, and the left by a dense forest 
of pines. On the side occupied by Franklin, the fields extended 
far both to the right and left of the highway ; but the low margin 
of the stream opposite the Confederate right was covered by a belt 
of tall forest, in full leaf, which effectually screened all the Fed- 
eral left from view. But the hills on their right were occupied 
by fifteen or twenty cannon in position, and were black with 
long lines of infantry. General Jackson, riding, as was his 
wont, with the advanced 'rnartl, no sooner saw the ground tlian 



WHITE OAK SWAMP. 465 

he halted his army, and ordered twenty-eight guns to be brought 
up, by a little vale through the fields on his right, just deep 
enough to hide them effectually from the enemy's view. These, 
although upon his right wing, were directed to" the batteries of 
tlie Federalists opposite his left. At a preconcerted signal, the 
guns, ready shotted, were now moved forward upon the brow of 
the eminence, and opened their thunders upon the enemy. So 
sudden and terrible was the revelation, they scarcely made an 
effort to reply, but galloped away, leaving two or three rifled 
pieces behind them ; while the ranks of infantry melted swiftly 
into the woods far in their rear. After a little, several batteries 
upon the enemy's left, concealed behind the belt of forest, began 
to reply to this fire ; and, from this time, the two parties kept 
up a desultory artillery-duel during the day. But as each was 
invisible to the other, much damage was neither given nor 
received. 

The General now advanced a section of artillery near the 
crossing of the stream, which speedily drove the Federal sharp- 
shooters from the opposite bank and trees j and he ordered over 
the cavalry regiment of Colonel Munford. They found the 
wooden bridge broken up, and its timbers floating — a tangled 
mass — in the waters. But just above was a deep and narrow 
ford, by which they passed over, followed immediately by the 
General. They scoured, with drawn sabres, over the ground 
lately occupied by the Federal right wing, noted the deserted 
cannon, and picked up a few prisoners. But the enemy's left, 
behind the long screen of forest, was found standing fast, while 
they were bringing both artillery and 'infantry into position to 
command the crossing. Colonel Munford therefore passed down 
the stream to his left, and, finding a spot where it was practica- 
ble, returned to his friends without loss. Jackson, upon observ- 
ing this, advanced the divisions of D. H. Hill and Whiting into 

59 



4G6 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

the pine "wood on Ms left, detailed a working party to act with 
their support; and attempted to repair the bridge, with the pur- 
pose of forcing his way by a simultaneous advance of his infantry 
and artillery. But the men could not be induced to labor stead- 
ily, exposed to the skirmishers of the enemy; and the attempt 
was abandoned. The remainder of the afternoon was spent in 
endeavors to discover some way, on the right or the left, by 
which the vexatious stream could be crossed, and the enemy's 
position turned ; but the roads were so effectually obstructed with 
fallen trees, that no hope appeared of removing them in time to 
fight a battle that evening. The troops were then withdrawn 
out of reach of the enemy's shells, and bivouacked, to await a 
more propitious morning. On this occasion it would appear, if 
the vast interests dependent on General Jackson's co-operation 
with the proposed attack upon the centre were considered, that 
he came short of that efficiency in action for which he was every- 
where else noted. Surely the prowess of the Confederate infan- 
try might have been trusted, for such a stake as Lee played for 
that day, to do again what it had so gloriously done, for a stake 
no greater, on the 27th; it might have routed the Federal infan- 
try and artillery at once, without the assistance of its own 
cannon. Two columns, pushed with determination across the two 
fords at which the cavalry of Munford passed over and returned, 
— the one in the centre, and the other at the left, — and pro- 
tected in their onset by the oblique fii-e of a powerful artillery 
so Avell posted on the right, would not have failed to dislodge 
Franklin from a position already half lost. The list of casual- 
ties Avould indeed have been larger than that presented on the 
30th, of one cannoneer mortally wounded. But how much shorter 
would have been the bloody list filled up the next day at Mal- 
vern Hill? This temporary eclipse of Jackson's genius was 
proljaljly to be explained by physical causes. The labor of the 



prazier's farm. 467 

previous days, the sleeplessness, the wear of gigantic cares, -with 
the drenching of the comfortless night, had sunk the elasticity of 
his will and the quickness of his invention, for the once, below 
their wonted tension. And which of the sons of men is there so 
great as never to experience this ? The words which fell from 
Jackson's lips, as he lay down that night among his Staff, showed 
that he was conscious of depression. After droppmg asleep 
from excessive fatigue, with his supper between his teeth, he 
said : " Now, gentlemen, let us at once to bed, and rise with the 
dawn, and see if to-morrow we cannot do something!" Yet he 
found time, amidst the fatigues of this day, to write to Mrs. Jack- 
son, with a heart full of piety and of yearning for domestic 
happiness : — 

" Near White Oak. Swamp Bridge, June 30tb. 

"An ever kind Providence has greatly blessed our efforts, 
and given us great reason for thankfulness in having defended 
Richmond as he has." 

" I hope that our God will soon bless us with an honorable 
peace, and permit us to be together at home, in the enjoyment of 
domestic happiness." 

Meantime, Generals Longstreet and A. P. Hill, after confront- 
ing the enemy's powerful centre until 4 o'clock P. M., heard 
firing upon the Charles City road, which they supposed indicated 
the near approach of Huger. The former placed a. battery in 
position and discharged it against the enemy to give notice of 
his presence. The Federalists replied, and the old war-horse, 
whose mettle forbade his ever declining the gage of battle, 
rushed to the contest. • None of his expected supports came up ; 
and the advantage of position and numbers was wliolly with his 
adversaries. But after a sanguinary conflict, he drove them from 



4G8 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

their whole line save at one point; and captured many prisoners, 
including a general of division, several batteries, and some 
thousands of small arms j when night arrested the furious strug- 
gle. This action has been known as the battle of Frazicr's 
farm. So near did its issue bring the enemy's left wing to 
destruction, even without the expected assistance of Jackson, 
Huger, and Magruder, that when it closed, at dark, the victorious 
troops of Longstreet were, unconsciously, within sight of the 
cross road by which Franklm was required to march his corps, in 
the rear of the Federal centa-e, in order to reach the appointed 
place of concentration at Malvern Hill. Nay, the cornfields 
beyond that road were ploughed up with Longstreet's cannon- 
shot. What then might not the triumph have been, if the 
intended co-operation had been given ? As soon as the night 
grew quiet, Franklin, informed of his critical position, moved off 
from White Oak Swamp, glided silently behind the shattered 
ranks which still confronted Longstreet, and retired, with them, 
to the protection of M'Clellan's lines at Malvern Hill. When 
the morning dawned, there was nothing in front of Jackson save 
the forsaken cannon of the enemy, and they had deserted to 
Longstreet a field ghastly with multitudes of their slain and 
wounded. His wearied troops, with those of A. P. Hill, were 
drawn off to seek the needed repose, and Magruder took his 
place. 

General Jackson putting liis corps in motion at an early hour, 
July 1st, with Whiting's division in front, crossed the White Oak 
Swamp ; an^, a little after, turning south, marched upon the 
traces of the enemy toward Malvern Hill. As he approached 
Frazicr's farm, a Confederate line of battle was seen a littlp 
distance from the right of the road, with their skirmishers upon 
the opposite side, looking eastward. These were the forces of 
Iilagrudcr, which had relieved those of Longstreet during the 



POSITION OF THE FEDERALISTS. 469 

night. Jackson passed between the line and the skirmishers, 
lustily cheered by them, and pursued the enemy swiftly. The 
road now plunged into an extensive woodland, with the Willis' 
Church upon the right hand, filled with the wounded of both 
armies. After advancing for a mile and a half tlirough this 
forest, the General's suite was suddenly greeted with a volley of 
rifle-balls from the Federal outposts, and a moment after, by a 
shower of shells. Retiring to a safer spot, he now ordered up 
his troops, and prepared to attack. His reconnoissance showed 
him the enemy most advantageously posted upon an elevated ridge 
in front of Malvern Hill, which was occupied by several lines of 
infantry partially forcified, and by a powerful artillery. In short, 
the whole army of M'Clellan, with three hundred pieces of field 
artillery, was now, for the first time, assembled on one field, 
determined to stand at bay, and contend for its existence ; while 
the whole Confederate army was also converging around it, 
under the immediate eye of the Commander-in-Chief and the 
President. The war of the giants was now about to begin, 
indeed ! before which the days of Gaines's Mill and Frazier's 
Farm were to pale. The position of the Federalists had been 
selected by M'Clellan himself, with consummate skill. His Ime 
fronted north, covering the river road behind it, and presenting 
a convex curve toward the Confederates. His right was covered 
by a tributary of Turkey creek, and his left by the fire of his 
gunboats, which tlu-ew their monstrous projectiles beyond his 
whole front. The ground occupied by him dominated by its 
height over the whole landscape ; and nowhere in his front was 
there a spot, where artillery could be massed to cope with 
his on equal terms. For, the country before him was not 
only of inferior altitude, but covered with woods and thickets, 
save within a few hundred yards of his own lines. And here, 
the open fields sloped gently away, offering full sweep to his 



470 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSOX. 

murderous fire ; while this approach was only reached, before 
his right and centre, by struggling across the treacherous rivulet 
iu front. 

General Lee now assigned the left to Jackson, and the right 
to Magrudcr, supported by linger and Holmes. Longstreet and 
A. P. Hill, with their wearied divisions, were held in reserve. 
The only spot where open ground appeared in opposition to the 
enemy's, was upon Jackson's extreme left. Here an extensive 
farm, belonging to a gentleman named Poindexter, indented the 
forests, and its luxuriant wheat fields, partially reaped, descended 
to the stream from which the Federal position rose on the oppo- 
site side. Tliis field offered the only ground for the manoeuvr- 
ing of artillery. After an examination of it. General Jackson 
ordered a few batteries to enter it from the covert of the woods, 
and engage the enemy. But the number of guns directed 
against them by him was too great ; and after a short contest, 
they retired crippled. The batteries of Poague and Carpenter 
from the Stonewall Brigade, and of Balthis from the division of 
Whiting, were then ordered forward, and by approaching the 
enemy more nearly, found a position which, though of inferior 
altitude, olTered some shelter. Here they maintained a stubborn 
and gallant contest with the numerous batteries opposed to them 
during the remainder of the day, and barred the way to the 
advance of the enemy's infantry. The infantry of Whiting was 
now disposed upon the left, the brigade of Colonel Law con- 
cealed in the tall wheat of the field, and that of General Hood 
in the adjoining forest, while the 3rd Virginia brigade, of Jack- 
son's division, commanded by General Hampton, supported the 
guns. The centre was occupied by the Louisiana brigade of 
Taylor, and the right bj D. H. Hill. The reserve was com- 
posed of the remainder of the division of Ewell, and the bri- 
gades of Lawton, Winder and Cunningham. These dispositions 



D. H. HILL ATTACKS UNSUPPORTED. 471 

were completed by 2 o'clock, P. M., and the General anxiously 
awaited the signal to begin. But the cordis of JMaginider; moving 
after Jackson's and delayed by a misconception of the route, 
was later in reaching its position. Instructions were sent by 
General Lee, that the onset should begin upon the right, with 
the brigades of Magruder, and that when D. H. Hill heard the 
cheer with which they charged the enemy, he should attack with 
the bayonet, to be folloAved immediately by the leaders upon his 
left. To approach the Federal centre, Hill was compelled to 
emerge from the forest, and cross an open field, where he suf- 
fered a preliminary loss of no small amount, from their artillery. 
His own batteries had been left in the rear, their ammunition 
exhausted ; and the Confederate artillery sent to his support 
was advanced, piece-meal, only to be crippled in detail and 
driven from the field. Fording the rivulet, however, in despite 
of his losses, he found a partial shelter for his division under a 
body of woodland within four hundred yards of the enemy's 
front. Accompanied by General Jackson, he then made a more 
particular examination of the ground, and found himself con- 
fronted by two or three lines of infantry and batteries, whose 
murderous fiixs commanded every approach. Five o'clock had 
now arrived, when suddenly Hill heard a mighty shout upon his 
right, followed by an outburst of firing. Regarding this as 
doubtless the appointed signal, and the beginning of Magruder's 
onset, he gave the word, and his men advanced devotedly to the 
charge under a storm of artillery and musketry. The first line 
of the enemy was forced, and their guns were compelled to 
withdraw to avoid capttire ; but the other points of their line, 
unoccupied by a simultaneous attack, advanced reinforcements to 
them ; and Hill was beaten off, after inflicting and suffering a 
severe loss. Jackson reinforced him, by sending the brigades of 
Trimble, Lawton, Winder and Cunningham; but the difficulties 



472 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSQN. 

of the position, the approaching darkness, and the terrific fii-e 
of the enemy, prevented their doing more than holding their 
ground, and maintaining an uncertain conflict. 

As sunset approached, and after the attack of Jackson was 
checked, Magruder at leng-tli got his troops into position, and 
advanced, with similar results. Much heroism was exhibited by 
his men, some ground was won from the enemy, a bloody loss 
was inflicted upon them, and received in his own command. 
At these attacks, the fire of the Federal artillery, which had been 
heav}', became inexpressibly furious. Along their whole line, 
whether assailed or not, their countless field-pieces belched forth 
their charges of flame with an incessant din, which was answered 
back by the hoarser bellowings of the gunboats in the rear. 
Wherever the eye turned, it was met by a ceaseless stream of 
missiles shrieking and crashing through the forest. A moonless 
night descended on the turmoil, and the darkness was lighted up 
for miles with the glare flashing across the heavens, as when two 
thunder clouds illuminate the adverse quarters of the horizon 
with sheet liglitning. Beneath, the fitful lines of light danced 
amidst the dark foliage, showing where the stubborn ranks of in- 
fantry plied their deadly work; and the roar of the musketry 
filled the intervals of the mightier din with its angry monotone ; 
while a fierce yell from time to time told of some hardly won 
vantage ground gained by the Confederates. At ten o'clock, the 
battle died away ; for the Federalists were silently withdrawing 
from the field, under the friendly veil of the darkness. Indeed, 
much of the cannonade was doubtless intended to cover this 
retreat ; and no sooner had it sunk into silence, than the rum- 
bling of the multitude of wheels began to tell that the artillery 
was withdrawirig from a field which was already abandoned by 
their infantry. The Confederates lay down upon their arms 
where the battle had ceased, in many places within a few paces 



HIS FIRIES'ESS. 473 

of the opposing pickets, and during the night they saw the 
lanterns flitting over the field; where they were busy removing 
the wounded. 

When the battle had ceased thus, General Jackson retired 
slowly and wearily to the rear, to seek some refreshment and 
rest. In the midst of a confused multitude of wagons and strag- 
glers, his faithful servant had prepared a pallet for him upon the 
ground j and here, after taking a morsel of food, he lay down and 
slept. At one o'clock his division commanders awoke him, to 
report the condition of their forces, and receive instructions for 
the morrow. None of them knew, as yet, those signs of retreat 
and discomfiture, which the advanced pickets were observing;, 
they only knew what they had sufiered in their own commands. ■ 
Their imaginations were awe-struck by the sights and sounds of 
the fearful struggle, and every representation which they gave 
was gloomy. At length, after many details of losses and disas- 
ters, they all concurred in declaring that M'Clellan would proba- 
bly take the aggressive in the morning, and that the Confederate 
army was in no condition to resist him. Jackson had listened 
silently, save as he interposed a few brief questions, to all their 
statements ; but now he replied, with an inexpressible dryness 
and nonchalance : '^ No ; I think he will clear out in the morn- 
ing." These words reveal one element of his power and great- 
ness. Such was the clearness of his military intuitions, and the 
soundness of his judgment, such the steadfastness of his spirit, 
that he viewed every fact soberly, without distortion or exagger- 
ation. His excited fancy played no tricks with his understand- 
ing. Dangers never loomed into undue proportions before his 
steady eye. Hence, in the most agitating or even appalling cir- 
cumstances, his conclusions were still correct. Such they proved 
to be now; for when morning davraed upon the battle-field, 

60 



474 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

M'Clcllan was gone indeed, leaving every evidence of precipi- 
tate retreat. 

The morning dawned with a dreary and pitiless rain, in con- 
trast with the splendor of the harvest sun of the previous day, as 
though the heavens had clad themselves in mourning, and were 
weeping a flood of tears for the miseries of the innocent, and the 
crimes of the guilty aggressor. The woods, which, the evening 
before, were thick with sulphureous smoke, were now wreathed 
in vapor; and the deep dust of the roads trampled into ashes 
by the myriad feet of men and horses, was now as speedily con- 
verted into semi-fluid mire. All were of course without tents ; 
and fatigued and hungry, they wore an aspect of squalid discom- 
fort. The only activity visible was the humane labor of the 
surgeons and their assistants, who were still bringing in the 
wounded, exhausted by their suficrings and drenched with rain. 
General Jackson, however, arose, and without brealdast, hurried 
to the front to watch over his men. The air was too thick with 
mist to distinguish anything upon the opposite hill ; but soon the 
reports from his outposts, and from the cavalry of Munford, con- 
vinced him that the enemy was gone. He now issued orders 
that the troops should form in the woods which they had occu- 
pied the day before, kindle liberal fires, cook their food, and 
refresh themselves after theu' fatigues ; while he repaired to the 
house of Poindextcr to meet the Commander-in-Chief. General 
Stuart, whom the latter had recalled from the north side of the 
Chickaliominy, had reached Turkey Creek on the left of the 
lines of Jackson, just as the battle closed. Ho was now witness 
of the precipitate retreat of tlie enemy, and following him down 
the river road, found numerous carriages fast stuck in the mire, 
or wrecked, with ammunition, clothing, equipments and muskets 
strewn broadcast over the country. He was informed by the 
country people, that the Federal ai'my reached the open fields of 



VEXATIOUS DELAY. ' 475 

Haxall's at morning, "without the seniblanc>'3 of organization, ob- 
serving no ranks nor obedience, spreading over the fields and 
Tvoodg at will, and lying down to sleep under the pelting rain. 
Instead of meditating the aggressive, the whole host would have 
surrendered to the summons of ten thousand fresh men. But, 
alas ! the Confederates had not those men to pursue them. Every 
division of the army had been worn by marching and fighting, 
and a certain disarray prevailed throughout. It must also be 
declared that this inability to reap the fruits of their heroic exer- 
tions arose partly from that lack of persistence which is the 
infii'mity of the Southern character. The army of Lee was as 
able to pursue, as that of M'Clellan was to flee ; and to the true 
soldier, the zeal to complete a hardly-won victory, and to save 
his country by one successful blow, should be as pungent a 
motive for intense exertion, as the instinct of self-preservation 
itself Another cause of delay in the pursuit was the hesitation 
of the Commander-in-Chief, who, uninformed as yet of all the 
signs of defeat given by his enemy, and prudently sceptical of 
the extent of his own success, was uncertain whether this was a 
flight, or a ruse of M'Clellan to draw him from his bridges and 
from Fort Drewry, in order that he might suddenly pass to the 
south side, now denuded of defenders, and occupy Petersburg and 
Richmond without resistance. The remainder of July 2nd was 
therefore consumed in replenishing the ammunition of the bat- 
teries, and in refreshing the men. Orders were given that on 
Thursday morning, the 3rd, all the army should pursue the enemy 
by way of Turkey Creek and the river road, with Longstreet in 
front. But after that General had put his troops in motion. Gen- 
eral Lee determined to march toward Harrison's landing, where 
the Federalists were now assembled, by returning to the Charles 
City road, and makhig his way thence down to the river. His 
purpose was tO avoid the obstructions which they were reported 



47 G LrPE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

to have left behind them to cover their rear. The brigades of 
Longstreet were therefore countermarched by Willis' Church, 
and Jackson was directed to give him the road. The guides of 
the former proved incompetent to their duties, and he was com- 
pelled to halt his division before half the day's march was com- 
pleted. Hence General Jackson only moved three miles on 
Thursday. Chafing like a lion at the delay, he moved his troops 
at early dawn of Friday, and pressing close upon the heels of 
Longstreet, reached the enemy's front by the middle of the day. 

The opportunity was already almost gone. M^Clellan had 
now been allowed two unmolested days to select and fortify his 
position, and to reduce again the huge mob which followed him 
to the form of an army. The return of genial suns, with rest 
and rations, and the immediate proximity of their gunboats, were 
fast restoring their spirits. The ground occupied by them was 
a beautiful peninsula, between the river James and a tributary 
called Herring Creek, composing the two estates of Wcstover 
and Berkeley. The creek, which enters the river at the eastern 
extremity of this peninsula, is, first, a tide stream ; then, an im- 
practicable marsh ; and, then, a mill-pond, enlarged by an artifi- 
cial embankment. West of Berkeley, another stream of the like 
character descends to the river ; so that the only access was 
tlu'ough a space between the two creeks, of no great extent, and 
rapidly closing with earthworks. The fire of the gunboats, it 
was supposed, might also assist to cover this approach, over the 
heads of their friends. 

"The Commander-in-Chief was disappointed to learn, on his 
arrival in front of the Federalists, that no opportunity had been 
found for striking a blow, cither on their retreat, or iu their 
present position. He immediately rode forward with General 
Jackson ; and the two, dismountmg, proceeded, without attend- 
ants to make a careful rcconnoissance on foot, of tlie enemy's 



MALVERN, A DRAWN BATTLE. 477 

whole line and position. Jackson concurred full}^ in the reluc- 
tant opinion to which General Lee was brought by this exami- 
nation, — that an attack would now be improper ; so that, after 
mature discussion, it was determined that the enemy should be 
left, unassailed, to the effects of the summer heats and the mala- 
ria, which were now at hand." 

To this the condition of his troops powerfully inclined him. 
On Saturday, General Jackson obtained returns of all his corjjs 
in front of the enemy, and ready for duty ; and found them just 
ten thousand men, exclusive of the division of D. H. Hill, which 
had been left to bmy the dead at Malvern Hill. Half his men 
appeared, therefore, to be out of their ranks, from death or 
wounds, from the necessary labors of the care of the wounded, 
from straggling, and from the inefficiency of their inferior officers. 
The army was therefore allowed to lie quiet in front of the ene- 
my, and refresh themselves after their fatigues. The wagons of 
the General also arrived ;- and, for the first time in a fortnight, 
the Staff enjoyed the luxury of their tents. These were now 
pitched beside a beautiful fountain, under the shade of a group 
of venerable oaks and chestnuts ; and here the quiet Sabbath was 
spent in religious worship, and in much-needed repose. 

The battle of Malvern Hill was technically a victory for the 
Confederates, for they held the field, the enemy's killed and 
wounded, and the spoils ; while the Federalists retreated precip- 
itately at its close. But, practically, it was rather a drawn 
battle; because the loss inflicted on them was probably no 
greater than that of the assailants ; and, especially, because the 
enemy would have retired to the same spot, and at the same 
time, if no assault had been made. The loss of Jackson's corps 
was three hundred and seventy-seven men killed, and one thou- 
sand seven hundred and forty-six wounded, with thirty-nine 
missing. The larger part of this bloodshed was in the division 



478 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

of D. n. Hill. The divisions under command of General 
Magrudcr lost about two thousand nine hundred men, killed 
and wounded. 

The struggle for the possession of the Confederate Capital 
was now closed. The results of Lee's victories were, indeed, 
far less than the overweening hopes and expectations of the 
people ; for Richmond was agitated with daily rumors that the 
Federal army was wholly dissipated; and, then, that it was 
about to. surrender in a body. But, in the language of the Com- 
mander-in-Chief, " Regret that more was not accomplished, gives 
way to gratitude to the Sovereign Ruler of the universe for the 
results achieved. The siege of Richmond was raised ; and the 
object of a campaign, wliich had been prosecuted, after months 
of preparation, at an enormous expenditure of men and mone_y, 
completely frustrated. More than ten thousand prisoners, 
— including officers of rank, — fifty-two pieces of artillery, and 
upwards of thirty-five thousand stand of small arms were cap- 
tured. The stores, and supplies of every description, which fell 
into our hands, were great in amount and value ; but small in 
comparison with those destroyed by the enemy. His losses in 
battle exceeded our own, as attested by the thousands of dead 
and wounded left on every field ; while his subsequent inaction 
shows in what condition the survivors reached the protection to 
which they fled.'" 

But yet, the same exalted authority has declared, that, " under 
ordinary cu'cumstanccs, the Federal army should have been 
destroyed." While that wliich was effected is creditable to the 
Confederates, yet the ruin of the enemy was within the scope of 
probability ; and might have been effected by them, by a higher 
degree of skill and effort. It is therefore of interest to the stu- 
dent of the military art, to learn what were the obstacles and 
blunders wliich prevented the fullest success. Of these, some were 



OBSTACLES TO THE FULLEST SUCCESS. 479 

unavoidable ; and among these latter must be reckoned a large 
part of the ignorance concerning the movements of M^Clellan, 
and the proper directions to be taken by the Confederates, by 
which General Lee found himself so much embarrassed. There 
"were no topographical surveys of the country, and all the gene- 
ral officers were strangers to it. It was a country of numerous 
intricate roads, of marshy streams, and of forests. Hence every 
march and every position of. the enemy was enveloped in myste- 
ry, until it was disclosed in some way at the cost of the Confed- 
erates; and every movement made by them in pursuit was in 
some degree tentative. 

Among the unavoidable dif&culties may, perhaps, be also 
ranked that which was, directly or indirectly, the fruitful parent 
of every miscarriag-e. The army was not sufficiently instructed, 
either in its of&cers or its men, for its great work. The capacity 
to command, the practical skill and tact, the professional knowl- 
edge, the devotion to duty, wliich make the efficient officer, do 
not come in a day ; and few are the natures which are capable 
of learning them to a high degree. When the Confederate Gov- 
ernment attempted to produce extempore officers of all grades for 
armies so great, out of a people who had been reared in the pur- 
suits of peace, it could only be partially successful. The com- 
pany and field officers competent to instruct and govern their 
men thoroughly, and to keep them to their colors amidst the 
confusion of battle and the fatigues of forced marches, were far 
too few for the regiments to be commanded. There were not 
enough Brigadiers, who knew how to manoeuvre a brigade 
quickly or vigorously; nor enough Major-Generals able to 
handle a great mass of troops. Hence that deficiency in the 
functions of the Staff which has been already explained, by 
reason of whicli the commander was ever in imperfect communi- 
cation with his forces, and was never certain that his wishes 



480 ■ LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

were properly conveyed to all of tlicm, or that he was possessed 
of their -whole situation -vrhcu out of his sight. Through so 
imperfect a medium perfect unison in action could never be 
gained, upon a theatre like that of Malvern Hill, extended over 
miles of wooded country, and including the convergent move- 
ments of several separate armies. It was from these causes the 
bungling combinations proceeded, upon every important field of 
this brief campaign. Enough officers always manceuvi-ed thcii* 
commands so slowly as to compel the Commander-in-Chief to let 
slip critical hours, and to wear away the day which should have 
been employed in attacking and pursuing. Thus it was ever : at 
Mechanicsville, at Cold Harbor, at Savage's Station, at Frazier'ij 
Farm, and especially at Malvern Hill ; the prime of the day was 
spent in waiting for somebody, or in getting into position ; the 
battle, which should have been the business of that prime, was 
thrust into the late afternoon ; and when the bloody victory was 
won, no time remained to gather in its fruits fully by a vigorous 
pursuit. 

The event also taught, what no forecast, perhaps, would have 
foreseen, that a more efficient employment of the cavaby upon the 
enemy's flanks would have put the Commander-in-Cliief in earlier 
possession of essential information. It has been seen that Gen- 
eral Stuart, after his return from the White House, was directed 
to remain upon the north side of the Chickahominy, guarding the 
Long Bridge, and the other crossings below ; and that he only 
rejoined the army the night of July 1st. He should rather have 
been required to cross the Chickahominy immediately, and pree- 
as closely upon the line of the enemy's actual operations, let it 
be where it might, as was possible. He would thus have equally 
fulfilled the purpose of his stay upon the north side, to ascer- 
tain that they did not retire toward Yorktown by the lower 
roads ; and he would probably have discovered at once, then' 



MISTAKES OF THE SEVEN DAYS. 481 

real movement. It afterward appeared, that the whole bag- 
gage train of M^Clellan, with numerous stragglers, passed nearly 
to Charles City Court House, by a road parallel to the Chicka- 
hominy and only a few miles distant from it, on the 29th of 
June. Had this fact been reported to General Lee by the first 
of July, it might have thrown a flood of new light upon the 
momentous question, which he was required that day to decide : 
must M'Clellan be attacked in his almost impregnable position 
or not ? It was known that he was assembling all the corjjs of 
his army at Malvern Hill; that his gunboats had ascended 
thither ; that he was beginning to entrench himself there. "Was 
it his purpose to convert this spot into a permanent entrenched 
camp, to defend it from all such assaults as he had just experienced 
on the Chickahominy, by his engineering skill ; to provision it 
from his ships, and thus to establish himself again within fifteen 
miles of Richmond, upon a base which General Lee's wisdom 
taught him to be a better one than that which he had lost? 
If this was his design, then it was imperative that he should be 
dislodged ; and the more speedily it was attempted, the less 
patriot blood would it cost. For if he were permitted to fix 
himself here, all the toil and loss of the glorious week would be 
vain. But now, add the fact that M'Clellan had sent all his 
trains to another spot, and that he stood upon Malvern Hill 
with nothing but his ammunition, and the supplies of a day ; and 
it became probable that he would retreat from this place, whether 
he were attacked or not ; that he would retreat whither his trains 
had preceded him, and that he was only standing at bay for a 
short time, to secure the privilege of that retreat. The ques- 
tion thus assumed a new aspect, whether it were better to assail 
him on his chosen ground, at such a cost of blood, or to wait for 
a fairer opportunity as he withdrew. 

If it were granted that M'Clellan ought to have been attacked 

61 



482 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

at once, on his own ground, much yet remains in the manage- 
ment of the battle on the Confederate side, which, though 
excused, cannot be justified. Tlie attack was made in detail, 
first at one point, and then at another, instead of being simulta- 
neous. Had the corps of Jackson and Magruder charged simul- 
taneously, with the devoted gallantry wliich a part of each 
exhibited, the Federal lines would doubtless have given way, and 
a glorious success would have rewarded the Confederates, with- 
out any greater expenditure of blood than they actually incurred. 
But it is worthy of question whether j\PClellan's advantage of 
position could not have been neutralized. Malvern Hill is upon 
the convexity of a sharp curve in the river James, which just 
below that neighborhood, flows away toward the south, while 
the river road pursues still an easterly course. If M-'Clellan 
moved eastward, he must either forsake the coveted help of his 
gunboats, or, to continue near the water, he must leave the high- 
lands, and descend to a level region commanded from the 
interior. These facts seemed to point to the policy of extending 
the Confederate left, until his egress by the river road was so 
violently thi'catened as to compel him to weaken his impregnable 
front. The great body of forest, which confronted his centre, 
might have been safely left to the guardianship of a sl;irmish 
line; for their weakness would have been concealed by the 
woods, and the enemy was, on that day, in no aggressive mood. 
A powerful mass of artillery and infantry displayed beyond their 
extreme right, would probably have produced the happiest effects. 
Last, the tardy and indirect pursuit which followed the battle, 
was the least excusable blunder of all. The two days which 
were allowed to M'Clellan proved the salvation of his army. 
But what are all these criticisms more than an assertion in 
different form, of the truths that all man's works arc imperfect, 
and that every art must be learned before it is practised? 



FIRE OF THE GUNBOATS. 483 

When it is remembered that the South had very few professional 
soldiers, that the men "who formed the victorious army of Lee 
were, the year before, a peaceful multitude occupied, since their 
childhood, in the pursuits of husbandry, and that half the brigades 
into which they were organized had never been under fire before 
the beginning of the bloody week, the only wonder will be that 
the confusion was not worse, and that the failures were not 
gTeater. That so much was accomplished is proof of the 
eminent courage of the people, and their native aptitude for war. 
It is a fact worthy of note in this narrative, that the fire of 
the gunboats, so much valued by the Federals and at first so 
dreaded by the Confederates, had no actual influence whatever 
in the battle. Their noise and fury doubtless produced a cer- 
tain efioct upon the emotions of the assailants; but this was 
dependent on their novelty. The loss inflicted by them was 
trivial when compared with the ravages of the field artillery, 
and it was found chiefly among their own friends. For more of 
their ponderous missiles fell in their own lines, than in those of 
the Confederates. Indeed, a fire directed at an invisible foe, 
across two or three miles of intervening hills and woods, can 
never reach its aim, save by accident. Nor is the havoc 
wrought by the larger projectiles proportioned to their magni- 
tude. Where one of them explodes against a human body, it 
does indeed crush it into a frightful mass, scarcely cognizable as 
human remains. But it is not likely to strike more men, in the 
open order of field operations, than a shot of ten pounds ; and 
the wretch, blown to atoms by it, is not put hors du combat more 
effectually, than he whose brain is penetrated by half an ounce 
of lead or iron. The broadside of a modern gunboat may con- 
sist of three hundred pounds of iron, projected by thirty or forty 
pounds of powder. But it is fired from only two guns. The 
effect upon a Ime of men is therefore but one fifteenth of that 



48-i LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

wliich tlic same metal might have had, fired from thirty ten- 
pouudcr rifled guns. 

In couclusion, a statement of the numbers composing the two 
armies in this great struggle, is necessary to estimate its merits. 
Under the orders of General Lee there were, at its beginning, 
about seventy-five thousand effective men, including the coijis 
brought to his aid by General Jackson. M'Clellan confidently 
represented the numbers opposed to him as much larger than 
his o-mi; but the habitual exaggerations of his apprehensive 
temper were patent, even to his own Government. He states 
that his own force was reduced to eighty thousand effective 
men. It must be remembered that during the campaign before 
Richmond, the motives of M'Clellan's policy dictated a studied 
depreciation of his own numbers. In the returns given by 
himself in another place, his effective force present for duty is 
set down at one hundred and six thousand men, inclusive of the 
garrison of Fortress Monroe under General Dix. Halleck de- 
clared, in his letter of Aug. Gth, that M'Clellan still had ninety 
thousand men at Berkeley, after all his losses ! These M'Clellan 
had estimated at fifteen thousand, how truthfully may be known 
from this : that he places the men lost by desertion and capture 
under six thousand, whereas the Confederates had in their hands 
more than ten thousand prisoners ; and the woods of tlie penin- 
sula were swarming with stragglers. "Whatever may have been 
his numerical superiority, it is indisputable that every advantage 
of equipments, arms, and artillery was on his side. 

But the arrival of General Jackson brought a strength to the 
Confederates beyond that of his numbers. His fame as a war- 
rior had just risen to the zenith ; while all the other armies of 
the Confederacy had been retreating before the enemy, or at 
best holding the defensive with difficulty, his alone had marched, 
and attacked, and conquered. A disaster had never aliglitcd on 



EFFECT OF HIS PRESENCE WITH THE ARMF. 485 

his banners. His assault was regarded by friends and foes as 
the stroke of doom, and his presence gave assurance of victory. 
Hence, wheft the army before Richmond learned that he was 
with them, they were filled with unbounded joy and confidence, 
while their enemies were struck with a corresponding panic. 



4S6 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 



CHAPTER XV. 

CEDAE RUN. 

While the army lay near Westover, resting from its toils, 
General Jackson called his friend, the Honorable Mr. Boteler, 
to his tent, to communicate his views of the future conduct of 
the war, and to beg that on his next visit to Richmond, he would 
impress them upon the Government. He said that it was mani- 
fest by every sign, that M'Clellan's was a thoroughly beaten 
army, and was no longer capable of anything, until it was re- 
organized and reinforced. There was danger, he foresaw, of 
repeating the error of Manassa's Junction j when the season of 
victory was let slip by an ill-timed inaction, and the enemy was 
allowed full leisure to repair his strength. Now, since it was 
determined not to attempt the destruction of M'Clcllan where he 
lay, the Confederate army should at once leave the malarious 
district, move northward, and carry the horrors of invasion from 
their own borders, to those of the guilty assailants. This, he 
said, was the way to bring them to their senses, and to end the 
war. And it was witliin the power of the Confederate Govern- 
ment to make a successful invasion, if their resources were 
rif^htly concentrated. Sixty thousand men could march into 
Maryland, and tlu'caten Washington City, producing most valua- 
ble results. But, he added ; while he wished these views to be 
laid before the President, he would disclaim earnestly the charge 
of self-seeking, in advocating them. He wished to follow, and 



ENEMY COXCEXTEATED UNDER GENERAL POPE. 487 

not to lead, in this glorious enterprise : lie was willing to follow 
anybody 5 General Lee, or the gallant Ewell. " Why do you 
not at once urge these things," asked Mr. Boteler, "upon Gen- 
eral Lee himself ?" "I have done so ;" replied Jackson. "And 
what," asked Mr. Boteler, " does he say to them ? " Gen- 
eral Jackson answered: "He says nothing." But he added; 
"Do not understand that I complain of this silence; it is proper 
that General Lee should observe it : He is a sagacious and 
prudent man ; he feels that he bears a fearful responsibility : 
He is right in declining a hasty expression of his purposes, to a 
subordinate like me." The advice of Jackson was laid before 
the President. What weight was attached to it, is unknown ; 
but the campaign soon after took the direction which he had 
indicated. 

He was extremely anxious to leave the unhealthy region of 
the lower James, where his own health, with that of his com- 
mand, was suffering, and to return to the upper country. He 
longed for its pure breezes, its sparkling waters, and a sight of 
its familiar mountains. Events had already occurred, which 
procured the speedy gratification of his wish. After the defeat 
of Fremont and Shields, the Washington Government united the 
cor])s of these Generals, of Banks, and of M'Dowell into one 
body, under the name of the "Army of Virginia." These parts 
made an aggregate of fifty or sixty thousand men, who were now 
sent, under Major-General Jolm Pope, upon the mission of 
making a demonstration against Richmond by the Orange and 
Alexandria Railroad, and thus effecting a diversion which would 
deliver M'Clellan from his duress. The former was directed 
to seize Gordonsvillc, the point at which the Orange and Central 
Railroads cross each other, and thus to separate Richmond from 
the interior. General Pope, who was supposed to have distin- 
guished himself at New ^Madrid, on the Mississippi, was chiefly 



488 LIFE OF LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSON. 

noted for his claim of ten thousand prisoners captured from 
General Beauregard in his retreat from Corinth, where the 
former commanded the advance of the Federalists (a boast 
which was reduced, by the truthful statement of the Confederate 
General, to one hundi-ed). He was the most boastful, the most 
brutal, and the most unlucky of the Federal leaders who had yet 
appeared in Vii'ginia. In a general order issued to his troops, 
he ostentatiously announced his purpose, to conduct the war 
upon new principles. " He had heard much," he said, " of lines 
of communication, and lines of retreat. The only line a general 
should know anything of, in his opinion, was the line of his 
enemy's retreat." He declared also, that hitherto he had never 
been able to see anything of his enemies but then* backs ; and 
announced, that during his campaign, the head-quarters should be 
in the saddle. So coarse a braggart was sure to be in sympathy 
with the race for which he promised to light, and they did not 
need to wait for any deeds actually accomplished- to proclaim 
him "the coming man" of his day. The reader may easily 
imagine the quiet smile with which Jackson would hear these 
shallow threats of his antagonist, and the silence with which he 
accepted them as auguries of a certain victory. General Pope's 
method of dealing with the people of Virginia was to be as 
novel as his strategy. He deliberately announced his purpose 
to subsist his troops on the country, and authorized an indis- 
criminate plunder of the inliabitants. His army was let loose 
upon them, and proceeded like a horde of brigands, through the 
rich counties of Fauquier and Culpepper, stripping the people 
of food, live stock, horses, and poultry, and wantonly destroying 
what they could not use. Their General also ordained, that all 
the citizens within his lines must perjure themselves by taking 
an oath of allegiance to Lincoln, or be banished South, to rctiu-u 
no more, under the penalty of being executed as spies. 



HE MAECHES TO GORDOXSVILLE. 489 

Jackson was now moved toward Gordonsville, to meet this 
doughty warrior, who, as he left Alexandria to assume command 
of his army at Mauassa's Junction, celebrated the triumphs to 
be achieved, before they were won, with banners and lam-els. 
The cor2)s returned from Westover to the neigborhood of 
Eichmond, the 10th of July. There the/ remained until the 
1 7th, preparing for their march ; and it was during this respite 
that General Jackson fii'st made his appearance openly, in the 
city which he had done so much to deliver. He gives the follow- 
ing account of it in a letter to his wife. 

" Richmond, July 14th. 

"Yesterday I heard Doctor M. D. Hoge preach in his church, 
and also in the camp of the Stonewall Brigade. It is a great 
comfort to have the privilege of spending a quiet Sabbath, 
within the walls of a house dedicated to the service of God. 
.... People are very kind to me. How God, our God, does 
shower blessings upon me, an unworthy sinner ! " 

The manner of his entrance was this. He came to the church 
without attendants ; and just after the congregation was assem- 
bled, they saw an of&cer who was manifestly a stranger, in a 
faded and sunburned uniform, enter quietly, and take his seat 
near the door. The immediate commencement of the worship 
forbade any notice or inquiry ; they could only observe that he 
gave a devout and fixed attention to the services. When they 
were concluded, it began to be whispered that he was General 
Jackson; but he scarcely gave them time to turn their eyes 
upon him, before he was gone, after modestly greeting one or 
two acquaintances. After visiting a mother, whose son had 
fallen in his command, he returned to his tent. 
. On the 19th of July, he reached Gordonsville with his corps, 
and took quarters in the hospitable house of Reverend D. B. 

62 



490 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

Ewing, where he had before found a pleasant rcstuig place, 
when passing thi'ough the village. He appeared jaded by his 
excessive labors, and positively unwell ; and said that he had 
not suffered so much, since his return from Mexico. But the 
rest, the mountain breezes, and the fresh fruits in which he so 
much delighted, speedily restored the vigor of his frame. He 
loved to refresh himself here, after the labors of the day were 
finished, with the social converse of the amiable family which 
surrounded Mr. Ewing's board, and with the prattle of his chil- 
dren. One of these, while sitting upon his knee, was captivated 
with the bright military buttons upon his coat, and petitioned 
that when the garment was worn out, he should give her one as 
a keepsake. This he promised ; and months afterward, amidst 
all his weighty cares, he remembered to send her the gift ; which 
she ever after hoarded among her treasures. It was his gi'catest 
pleasure to share the family prayers of this Chi'istian house- 
hold, and he did not refuse to take his turn in conducting them. 
His host remarks of these services : '' There was something very 
striking in his prayers — ^lie did not pray to men, but to God. 
His tones were deep, solemn, tremulous. He seemed to realize 
that he was speaking to Heaven's King. I never heard any 
one pray, who seemed to be pervaded more fully by a spirit of 
utter self-abnegation. He seemed to feel more than any man 
I ever knew, the danger of robbing God of the glory due for 
our success." Although he was incapable of making an osten- 
tatious display of himself, and would never permit the interrup- 
tion of business by society, yet when time sufficed for social 
enjoyments, he was easily approached by all who sought to know 
him, and was careful to contribute to their entertainment by 
bearing a modest part in conversation. 

After a few days spent near Gordonsville, he retired south- 
ward a few miles into the county of Louisa, whose fertile fields 



HE EESOLVES TO ATTACK POPE. 491 

offered abundant pasturage for his jaded animals. Here he 
devoted himself to reorganizing his command, and recruiting his 
artillery horses, for the approaching service. It was at this time 
that he complained, in Iiis letters to his Tvife, of being overbur- 
thened with cares and labors : but he chided himself by referring 
to the Apostle of the Gentiles, who " gloried in tribulation," and 
declared that it was not like a Christian to murmur at any toil 
for his Redeemer. 

Learning that Pope was advancing toward the Rapid Ann 
River in great force, he called upon General Lee for reinforce- 
ments ; and the division of General A. P. Hill was sent to join 
him. This fine body of troops continued henceforth to be a part 
of his corps. On the 2nd of August, the Federal cavalry occu- 
pied the village at Orange Court House, when Colonel William 
E. Jones, the comrade of Jackson at West Point, commanding 
the 7th Vii'ginia cavalry, attacked them in front and flank while 
crowded into the narrow street, and repulsed them with loss. 
They, however, speedily perceiving the scanty numbers of their 
assailants, returned to the charge; and threatening to envelop 
Jones, forced him back in turn. But he retired skii-mishing with 
so much stubbornness, that they pursued him a very short 
distance, when they withdrew across the river. This affair 
occurred ten miles north of Gordonsville. Pope's infantry 
paused in the county of Culpepper, which lies over against 
Orange, across the Rapid Ann. He indiscreetly extended his 
army a few miles in rear of that stream, upon a very wide front, 
while some of the troops designed to serve under his orders 
were still at Fredericksburg, two marches below. This was an 
opportunity which the enterprise and sagacity of Jackson were 
certain to seize. He knew that the army of Lee, still detained 
to watch M'Clellan upon the lower James, could not come to his 
support before that of Pope would be assembled. The mass of 



492 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

the latter would then be irresistible by his little armj-; and 
there was reason to fear that Gordonsville would be lost, the 
railroad occupied, and a disastrous progress made by Pope 
before he could be arrested. He therefore determined to strike 
his centre immediately at Culpepper Court House, and to cripple 
liim so that he would be unable to advance, before other disposi- 
tions could be made for resisting him. Another powerful reason 
dictated an attack. Jackson's soldierly eye had shown him that 
the line of the Rapid Ann was the proper one to be held by a 
defensive army guarding the communications at Gordonsville, and 
the centre of Virginia; for the commanding heights of the 
southern bank everywhere dominated over the level plains of 
the Culpepper border. This judgment was afterward confirmed 
by the high authority of General Lee, who selected that line 
for defence against Generals Meade and Grant ; and, by its 
strength, baffled every attempt to force it in front. Pope, then, 
must not be permitted to occupy it ; but it suited the temper of 
General Jackson to prevent it by an aggressive blow, rather 
than by a dangerous extension of his inadequate force upon it. 
Ilcnce, on the 7th of August, he gave orders to his three divis- 
ions to move toward Culpepper, and to encamp on that night 
near Orange Court House. 

It was on this occasion that the striking witness was borne by 
his African servant, Jim, to his devout habits, which was so 
currently (and correctly) related. Some gentlemen were inquir- 
ing whether he knew when a battle was about to occur. " Oh, 
yes. Sir," he replied: " The General is a great man for praying; 
night and morning — all times. But when I see him get up sev- 
eral times in the night besides, to go off and pray, then I know 
there is going to he somctJdng to pay; and I ^o straight and 
pack his haversack, because I know he will call for it in tlie 
mornino;." 



TOPOGRAPHY OP CEDAE EUN. 493 

August 8tli, the division of Ewell, which led the viaj, bearing 
off to the nortiwest, crossed the Rapid Ann at the Liberty Mills, 
as though to attack the extreme right of Pope. The other 
divisions crossed at Barnett's Ford, below ; and Ewcll, turning to 
the east, returned to their line of march, and bore toward 
Slaughter's Mountain. The division of A. P. Hill, delayed by the 
trains which followed the preceding troops, and by a misconcep- 
tion of orders, did not cross the river until the morning of the 
9th. This derangement of the march arrested General Jackson 
many miles from Culpepper Court House, and he reluctantly 
postponed- his attack to the next day. On the morning of 
August 9th, having ascertained that A. P. Hill was now within 
supporting distance, he moved early ; and, with his cavalry in 
front, pressed toward the Court House. About eight miles from 
that place, the advance reported the enemy's cavalry before 
them, guarding the roads, and manoeuvring in a manner which 
indicated a force behind them ,• and, a little after, the line of 
horse was discovered upon a distant ridge, drawn up as if for 
battle. A few cannon shot from a rifled gun dislodged them ; but 
speedily the fii-e was returned by the Federal artillery from a 
distant position, and the line of cavalry re-appeared. General 
Jackson, convinced that he had a strong body of the enemy in 
his front, now made his dispositions for battle, a little after the 
middle of the day. 

His army had by this time fallen into the main road, leading 
northeastward to Culpepper Court House ; and to this quarter 
his front was directed during the remainder of the day. The 
neighborhood around him was a region of pleasant farms, of 
hills and dales, and of forests interspersed. But parallel with 
the road which he was pursuing distant about a mile on his 
right, was an insulated ridge, rising to the dignity of a mountain, 
running perfectly straight from southwest to northeast, and 



494 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

di'opping into tlic plain as suddenly as it arose. This is called 
hj tlic country-people, Slaughter's Mountain. The fields next its 
base are smoother and more akin to meadows than those along 
the highway at the distance of a mile. Across the northeastern 
end of the ridge, How the rivulets which form, by their union, 
Cedar Run, and make their way thence to the Rapid Ann. Gen- 
eral Early's brigade of Ewell's division, which held the front, 
was ordered to advance along the great road and develop the 
position of the enemy, supported by the division of Jackson, 
commanded by Brigadier-General Winder. The remainder of 
Ewell's division, consisting of the brigades of Trimble and Hays, 
(lately Taylor's) diverged to the right, and skirtmg the base of 
Slaughter's ^Mountain, by an obscure pathway, at length reached 
the northeast end, whence, from an open field elevated several 
hundred feet above the plain, they saw the whole scene of action 
unfolded beneath them. The battery of Latthner, with half that 
of Johnson, was drawn up to this promontory, and skilfully posted, 
so as to cover with its fii-e the whole front of the Confederate 
right and centre. It was to the promptitude with which General 
Jackson seized this point, and the adroitness with which he em- 
ployed its advantages, that he was chiefly indebted, in connec- 
tion with the bravery of his troops, for his victory. The guns 
of Lattimcr and Johnson, in consequence of the elevation of 
their position, commanded a wide range of the country below, 
and were themselves secure from the fire of the enemy. Every 
shot aimed at them fell short, and buried itself, without ricochet, 
in the hill-side beneath them ; while their guimers, in perfect 
security, and in a clear atmosphere above the smoke of the 
battle-field, played upon the enemy with all the deliberation and 
skill of target practice. Thus the level and open fields next the 
mountain, which otherwise were most favorable to the display 
of the Federalists' superior numbers, were cfiectually barred 



BATTLE OP CEDAE EUX, 



495 




496 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

from their approach ', or, if they braved the fu'C of the mountain- 
battery, the two brigades of Ewell lay hid in the dense pine 
thickets which clothed the side of the ridge, ready to pour upon 
their flank a crushing fire from superior ground. These disposi- 
tions at once decided the security of Jackson's right wing for 
the whole day. He placed no troops in the meadows next the 
mountain-base; for on this ground the artillery of the enemy 
could play with best effect. Cut though this marked hiatus in 
his line seemed to invite attack, none was seriously attempted ; 
tlie disadvantage imposed upon the assailants revealed itself to 
them so powerfully, at thcii' first approach, that they observed 
the deadly trap afterward with respectful avoidance. 

Before these dispositions upon the right were completed, Gen- 
eral Early had become engaged with the enemy. Throwing his 
brigade into line of battle across the road, he advanced obliquely 
to the right, scouring the woods before him with his skirmishers 
and driving back the observing force of cavalry. A march of a 
half-mile brought him to the top of a gentle hill where the road 
emerged from the forest, and ran forward for a third of a mile 
farther, between the wood and a large pasture field of undulating 
ground. In other words, the open ground here cut into the 
forest by an angle, so that the traveller advancing thenceforward 
had the field upon his right, and the wood upon his left, for that 
distance. There the wood terminated, upon the brow of a liil- 
loek overlooking the rivulet ; and tliere* were open fields upon 
both sides of the highway. That on the right was covered, for a 
great extent, with a tall growth of Lidian corn in all its suunner 
glory. That on the left was a stubble field of narrow extent, 
witli wheat in the shock ; and still farther to the left of tliis, was 
another piece of ground of about equal size, which liad been 
denuded of its timber, but was now densely ovcrgroAvn with 
brushwood of the hei^'ht of a man's shoulders. The stubble 



eaely's dispositions. 497 

field and tlic clearing, together, constituted in fact but a species 
of bay, penetrating the surrounding forests to the left of the main 
road J for on their farther side the woods commenced again. 
The cornfield, the stubble field, tlie brushwood, and the angle of 
forest on the Confederate side, were destined to be the Aceldama. 
By the time General Early had reached the rear angle of the 
great pasture field just described, his whole line was, in conse- 
quence of his oblique advance, on the left of the road, and was 
soon, by his farther advance, separated from it by a considerable 
space. Sweeping the Federal skirmishers before him, he pushed 
his line, in perfect order, to the front of the declivity which de- 
scended to the rivulet and the Indian corn. Several batteries on 
his right and in front were now opened on him, and the wheat- 
field on the left of the highway was observed full of squadrons 
of cavalry. Withdrawing his men into a slight depression behind 
the foremost crest of the hill, ho obtained partial shelter from 
the enemy's artillery, and brought up four guns from the bat- 
teries of Captains Brown and Dement, to a favorable position 
upon his right, whence they engaged the opposing batteries with 
great credit. But no line of infantry was yet visible before him, 
for it was masked in the thick corn. 

The division of Winder had now arrived, and its commander 
was posting several of its best batteries in echelon along the 
road in the rear of Early's left, whence they delivered a most 
efiective oblique fire toward the right and front. The second 
brigade of the division was advanced on the left of the road, to 
the further edge of the wood, presenting a convex line toward 
the cornfield and the stubble field ; the third brigade was left in 
column parallel to the road and in rear of their artillery : and 
the first, or Stonewall Brigade, was disposed as a reserve to sup- 
port the left. A rapid and continnous thunder of artillery now 
began on both sides, which was prolonged for two hours. Distant 

63 



498 LIFE OP MEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

spectators perceived that the aim of the Confederates was 
much more accurate than that of the enemy. While the sliells 
of the latter mostly exploded high in the air and above the tree- 
tops, those of the former were seen ploughing the ground among the 
guns of their adversaries, and tlu'owing the dust, with their iron 
hail, in then* midst. But one fated shot from the Federal batter- 
ies robbed the patriots of one of tbo chief ornaments of their 
army. "While General Winder was standing beside the guns of 
Poaguc and Carpenter, directing their working with his customary 
coolness and sldll, a shell struck him upon the side, dashed his 
field-glass from his hand, and inflicted a ghastly wound, of which 
he died three hours after. No more just or graceful tribute 
can be paid to his memory, than that of General Jackson's 
report. " It is difficult within the proper reserve of an official 
report, to do justice to the merits of this accomplished officer. 
Urged by the medical director to take no part in the movements 
of the day, because of the enfeebled state of his health, his 
ardent patriotism and military pride could bear no such restraint. 
Eichly endowed with those qualities of mind and person, which 
fit an officer for command, and which attract the admiration and 
excite the enthusiasm of troops, he was rapidly rising to the 
front rank of his profession. His loss has been severely felt." 
Succeeding General Richard Garnett in the command of the 
Stonewall Brigade, after the battle of Kernstown, and coming to 
it wholly a stranger, he had unavoidably, inherited some of the 
odium of that popular officer's removal. During the first two 
months of his connexion with it, he was respected and obeyed , 
for his dignity, bearing, and soldierly qualities were such as 
to ensure this everywhere ; but he inspired no enthusiasm. It 
was at Winchester, when General Jackson assigned him the coui- 
maud of his left wiug, that his prowess broke forth to tlie appre- 
hension of his men, like the sun l)ursting tlu-ough clouds. The 



CONFEDERATE LEFT BROKEN. 499 

heroism with which he shared their dangers, and the mastery 
with which he directed their strength, placed him thenceforth in 
their hearts. 

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the struggle began in earnest, 
by the advance of the Federal infantry against Early, through 
the Indian corn. This General, handling his regiments with 
admirable coolness and daring, held the heavy masses in his 
front at bay, with slight loss to himself. Soon after, the enemy 
advanced a strong force of infantry to turn his right ; but just as 
the movement was endangering the guns of Brown and Dement, 
a brigade was seen advancing rapidly to then- support. It was 
the command of Thomas (from the division of A. P. Hill, who 
had now arrived upon the scene) ; which, with two additional 
batteries, took post upon Early's right. The Confederate line 
of battle was thus extended within a half-mile of the mountain, 
and all the efforts made against it on this side were hurled back 
with loss. But, upon the other extremity of the field, grave 
events were occurring. It has been related, how the second 
brigade of the division of "Winder, under Colonel Garnett, had 
been stationed on the left of the great road, with its line con- 
formed to the convexity of the wood. The Stonewall Brigade, 
which was its reserve, was, unhappily, too far to the rear to give 
it immediate support. One moment it was declared that there 
was no hostile infantry visible in its front ; but the next, the 
men at the extreme left? beheld a formidable line, whose length 
overlapped them on either hand, advancing swiftly from the 
opposite woods, and across the stubble field, to assail them. 
The battalion at that end of the line, seeing themselves thus 
overmatched, fired a few ineffectual volleys, and gave way j the 
Federal right speedily swept around, entered and filled the 
woods, and even threatened the rear of the batteries of the 
division, from which the thu'd brigade of Taliaferro had a little 



500 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

before been removed to the front, to fill the interval between the 
second and that of Early. The whole angle of forest was now 
filled with clamor and horrid rout. The left regiments of the 
second brigade were taken in reverse, intermingled with the 
enemy, broken, and massacred from front and rear. The 
regiments of the right, and especially the 21st Virginia, com- 
manded by the brave Christian soldier. Colonel Cunningham, 
stood firm, and fought the enemy before them like lions, until 
the invading line had penetrated within twenty yards of their 
rear. For the terrific din of the musketry, the smoke, and the 
dense foliage, concealed friend from foe, until they were only 
separated from each other by this narrow interval. Their 
heroic Colonel w^as slam, the orders of officers were unheard 
amidst the shouts of the assailants, and all the vast uproar ; yet 
the remnants of the second brigade fought on, man to man, 
without rank or method, with bayonet thrusts and muskets 
clubbed, but borne back like the angry foam on a mighty wave, 
toward the high road. The third brigade, also, upon the right 
of the second, was broken, and on both sides of the way the 
enemy made a vast irruption, in which half of Early's brigade 
was involved. On his extreme left, next to Taliaferro stood 
the famous 13th Virginia, which, under the gallant leading of 
its sturdy Colonel, J. A. Walker, still showed an unbroken front, 
and fell back, fighting the flood of enemies. The right regiments 
of Early, under the immediate eye of their veteran General, held 
thcif ground like a rampart. But the Federalists were fiist 
gaining their rear in the open field. 

It was at this fearful moment that the genius of the storm 
reared his head amidst the tumultuous billows ; and in an instant 
the threatening tide was turned. Jackson appeared in the mid 
torrent of the highway, his figure instinct with majesty, and his 
face flaming with the inspiration of battle; he ordered the 



THE TIDE TURNED. 501 

batteries which Winder had placed to bo instantly withdra^\^l, 
to preserve them from capture :, he issued his summons for his 
reserves ; he drew his own sword (the first time in this war), 
and shouted to the broken troops with a voice which pealed 
higher than the roar of battle : " Rally, bravo men, and press 
forward ! Your general will lead you. Jackson will lead you. 
Follow me ! ^'' " The fugitives, with a general shame, gathered 
around theii* adored general : and rushing with q, few score of 
them to the front, ho posted them behind the fence which bor- 
dered the roadside, and received the pursuers with a deadly vol- 
ley. Tliey recoiled in surprise ; while officers of every grade, 
catching the generous fervor of their commander, flew among the 
men, and in a moment reinstated the failing battle. The frag- 
ments of Early and Taliaferro returned to their places, forming 
around that heroic nucleus, the 13th Virginia, and swept the 
open field clear of the enemy. The Stonewall Brigade had 
already come up and changed the tide of battle in the bloody 
woodland, for some of the regiments sweeping far around to the 
left through the field of brushwood, had taken the Federalists, in 
turn, upon their flank, and were driving them back with a fear- 
ful slaughter into the stubble field. Scarcely was this Titanic 
lilow delivered, when the fine brigade of Branch, from the divi- 
sion of A. P. Hill, hardly allowing itself time to form, rushed 
forward to second them, and completed the repulse. 

The Federal commander, loth to lose his advantage so quick- 
ly, now brought forward a magnificent column of cavalry, and 
hurled it along the highway, full against the Confederate centre. 
No cannon was in position to ravage their ranks ; but, as they 
forced back the line for a little space by their momentum, the 
infantry of Branch closed in upon their right, and that of Talia- 
ferro and Early upon their left. Especially did the 13th Virginia 

* His own words, as repeated by a member of his staff, who was present. 



502 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

now exact a bloody recompense of them for all their disas- 
ters. Wheeling instantly toward the left, they rushed to the_ 
fence beside the road ; and, just as the recoil of the shock began, 
poured a withering volley into the huddled mass from the dis- 
tance of a few yards. On both sides of the devoted column, the 
lines of Branch and of Taliaferro blazed, until it fled to the rear, 
utterly scattered and dissipated. And now Jackson's blood was 
up; and he delivered blow after blow from his insulted left 
wing, with stunning rapidity and regulated fury. Scarcely was 
the charge of this cavalry repelled, when he again reinforced the 
ranks of Branch in front of the bloody stubble field, with the 
brigades of Archer and of Pender, from the division of Hill, 
extending them far to the left. These fresh troops, with the 
remainder of the first and second brigades of Jackson's division 
were ordered by him to advance across the field, throwing their 
left continually forward, and attack the enemy's line in the oppo- 
site wood. They advanced under a heavy fire, when the foe 
yielded the bloody field, and broke into full retreat. The brig- 
ade of Taliaferro also charged, bearing toward the right, and 
pierced the field of Indian corn in front of General Early, where 
they captured four hundred of the enemy, with Brigadier-General 
Prince. 

The two brigades which had hitherto remained with General 
Ewell upon the mountain now advanced also upon the right, 
turned the left flank of the Federalists, and captured one piece 
of artillery. Thus, at every point, the foe was repulsed, and 
hurled into full retreat. When night settled upon the field they 
had been driven two miles, Jackson urging on the pursuit with 
tlie fresh brigades of Staff"ord and Field. It was his cherislied 
desire to penetrate to Culpepper Court House, for he would 
tlicn have struck the centre of Pope's position, and his chief depot 
of supplies ; whence he hoped to be able to crush the fragments 



HIS TROOPS BIVOUAC. 503 

of his army before the corps of McDowell could reach hun. 
_ With this object, he purposed at fii'st to continue the pursuit all 
night. Ascertaining by his scouts that the enemy had paused in 
tlicir flight just in his front, he now placed the battery of Pegram 
in position, and opened a hot lire upon them at short range. 
This new cannonade threw them for a time into great confusion ; 
and had the darkness of the night permitted the victor to see 
distinctly where his blows should be auned, he would probably 
have converted the retreat of the Federals into a disastrous rout. 
But, after a time, three batteries began to reply to Pegram with 
such vigor as plainly indicated that Pope had received some 
fresh supports since the night fell. The indefatigable Colonel 
William E. Jones also, returning with his regiment of cavalry 
from a fatiguing expedition, had passed to the front, and ascer- 
tained the arrival of the remainder of the corj^s of Fremont, now 
commanded by Sigel. The General therefore determined not to 
hazard more in the darkness of the night, and commanded the 
troops to halt and bivouac upon the gi'ound which they had won. 
The long day, sultry with an August sun, and with the heats 
of battle, had now given place to a night, moonless but placid. 
Jackson at length gathered his wearied Staff about him, and 
rode languidly back through the field of strife, lately so stormy, 
but now silent, save where the groans of the wounded broke the 
stillness, seeking a place of repose. Applying at two or three 
farm-houses for shelter, he was informed that they were full of 
wounded men, when he persistently refused to enter, lest he 
should be the occasion of robbing some sufferer of his resting- 
place. Resuming his way, he observed a little grass-plot, and 
declared that he could go no farther, but must sleep then and 
there. A cloak was spread for him upon the ground, when he 
prostrated himself on it upon his breast, and in a moment forgot 
his toils and fatigues in deep slumber. 



504 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

The morning of the 10th of August, General Jackson with- 
drew his lines a short distance, and proceeded to bury his dead, 
and collect from the field the spoils of his victory. These con- 
sisted of one piece of artillery and three caissons, thi-ee colors, 
and five thousand three hundred small arms. The loss of the 
Confederates in this battle was two hundred and twenty-thrc(j 
killed, one thousand and sixty wounded, and thirty-one missing, 
— making a total of one thousand three hundred and fourteen. 
General Jackson modestly estimated the loss of his enemy as 
double his own. How moderate that estimate was \n\\ appear 
in the sequel. The Federalists, according to their own returns, 
had thirty-two thousand men engaged in this battle. The num- 
bers of General Jackson were between eighteen and twenty 
thousand. The prisoners captured from the enemy were chiefly 
from the coijis of General Banks ; but a few from those of Sigel 
and M-Dowell showed that parts of their commands were also 
engaged. On the 11th of August, Pope requested, by flag of 
truce, access to the field to bury his dead. This privilege was 
granted to him ; and General Early was appointed commandant 
of the field, to enforce the terms of the temporary truce. Soon 
the gTOund was covered with those who had lately been arrayed 
against each other in mortal strife, mingling unarmed. While 
the burying parties collected their bloody charge, and excavated 
gi-eat pits in which to cover them, the rest were busy trading their 
horses with each other, arg-uing upon the politics of the great con-, 
troversy, and discussing the merits of their respective Generals. 
The Federals, with one consent, were loud in their praises of 
Jackson ; and declared that if they had such Generals to lead 
them, they also could win victories and display prowess. Not a 
few of them were prompt to draw parallels between the simpli- 
city, self-reliance, and courage of the Confederate Generals, and 
the ostentation and timidity of their own, little complimentary to 



REPORTS TEE VICTORY TO LEE. 505 

them. "-See old Early," they said, "riding everywhere, without 
a single guard, among his enemies of yesterday. If it were 
one of our mutton-headed Generals, he must needs have half a 
regiment of cavalry at his heels, to gratify his pride, and defend 
him from unarmed men ! " General Early saw them bury seven 
hundred corpses. How many were borne from the field by 
them during the progress of the battle, cannot be known. If 
they, like the Confederates, had five wounded for every one 
slain (the usual ratio), then their total loss was, at the least, four 
thousand six hundred. While the field of Indian corn was 
sprinkled' over with dead, the most ghastly accumulation was in 
the stubble field and the brushwood in front of the Confederate 
left ; which one of their own Generals (taking his metaphor from 
his own former trade) denominated " the slaughter-pens." The 
battle of Cedar Run, like all those where Jackson was the assail- 
ant, was remarkable for the narrowness of the front upon which 
the true contest was enacted. A space of a mile in width here 
embraced the whole of the ground upon which his centre and 
left wing had wrestled, for half a day, against thirty thousand 
men. TVhen it is remembered that these were enough to man a 
line of battle, six miles long, this fact will appear a singular 
evidence'of the incompetency of the Federal tactics, — that their 
boastful commander should have accepted defeat with all the 
advantage of his superior numbers, in an open country, without 
effecting any more extended development of his lines, or resort 
to the resources of manoeuvre. General Jackson, on- his part, 
pronounced this the most successful of his exploits. But he 
ainiounced it to his superior. General Lee, in these devout and 
modest terms : — 

"August llthj 6 A A. M. 

" On the evening of the 9th instant, God blessed our arms 
with another victory. The battle was near Cedar Run, about 

6i 



506 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

six miles from Culpepper Coui't House. The enemy, according 
to statements of prisoners, consisted of Banks's, M'Dowell's and 
Sigcl's commands. We have over four hundred prisoners, 
including Brigadier-General Price. AVhilst our list of Idlled is 
less than that of the enemy, ■sve have to mourn the loss of some 
of our best officers *and men. Brigadier-General Charles S. 
Winder was mortally wounded whilst ably discharging his duty 
at the head of his command, wliich was the advance of the left 
wing of the army. We have collected about loOO small arms, 
and other ordnance stores.'' 

Whilst General Jackson was engaged on the 10th, caring for his 
killed and wounded, he caused careful reconnoissances to be made 
under the care of General J. E. B. Stuart, who providentially 
visited his army on that day, on a tour of inspection. He was 
convinced by this inquiry, that the army of Pope was receiving 
constant accessions, and that before he could resume the offen- 
sive, it would be swelled to sixty thousand men. The bulk of 
the forces of M-Dowell, was upon the march to join the enemy, 
by a route which seemed to threaten his rear. He therefore 
determined that it was imprudent to hazard farther olTensivc 
movements. Having sent back all his spoils and his wounded, 
he retu'cd from the front of the enemy tlie night of August 11th, 
and returned unmolested to the neighborhood of Gordonsville, 
hoping that Pope's evil star might tempt him to attack his army 
there, where the proximity of the raib'oad would enable him to 
receive adequate re-inforccmcnts. 

A part of the leisure of his day of truce was employed in 
writing to Mrs. Jackson a letter, from which the following 
extract is taken. 

"On last Saturday our God again crowned our arms with 



REASONS FOR BATTLE OF CEDAR RUN. 507 

victory, about six miles from Culpepper Court House. All glory 
be to God for his unnumbered blessings. 

'•' I can hardly thuik of the fall of Brigadier-General C. S. 
Winder, without tearful eyes. Let us all unite more earnestly 
in imploring God's aid in fighting our battles for us. The 
thought that there are so many of God's people praying for His 
blessing upon the army, which, in His providence, is with me, 
greatly strengthens me. If God be for us, who can be against 
us ? That He will still be with us, and give us victory after 
victory, until our independence shall be established, and that He 
will make our nation that people whoso God is the Lord, is my 
earnest and oft-repeated prayer. Whilst we attach so much 
importance to being free from temporal bondage, we must attach 
far more to being free from the bondage of sin." 

His report of the battle is closed with these words : 

" Li order to render thanks to God for the victory at Cedar 
Run, and other past victories, and to implore His contmued 
favor in the future, divine service was held in the army on the 
14th of August." 

This battle was claimed by the Federalists, with their usual 
efii^ontery, as a victory ; under the pretext that General Jackson 
had after two days retreated and recrossed the Rapid Ann. 
Had these measures on his part been caused by anything that 
was done upon the battle-field by the forces engaged against 
him August 9th, that pretext would have worn the color of a 
reason. But since his withdrawal was caused by the arrival of 
fresh troops in great numbers, after the battle was concluded, it 
might with as much truth be said that any other victory in histo- 
ry was a defeat, because- the material resources of the two 
parties were afterwards modified or reversed. 

The opinion has been expressed that although Jackson fought 
well at Cedar Run, it would have been better not to have fought 



508 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

at all; because liis victory, while glorious, was without other re- 
sult ; and thus the brave men lost were made a useless sacrifice. 
This criticism should be met by two answers. The battle 
was not without solid result, for it arrested the career of Pope 
until the army of Northern Virginia arrived, and prevented his 
gaming positions decisive of futui^ operations. It must be 
remembered that on the 2nd of August, the vanguard of the 
invading army had crossed the Rapid Ann, and penetrated with- 
in twelve miles of Gordonsville. The troops which came to 
support Jackson did not move against the enemy from that place, 
until August 16th. What disastrous progress might not the 
invaders have made within that time, if Jackson had not arrested 
them by his timely blow? But second: designs, which must 
necessarily be made -in advance, are entitled to be tried, when 
the question is of the wisdom of him who formed them, not by 
the strict rule of the actual event, l3ut by the milder one of the 
probable result. General Jackson proposed to strike the en- 
emy, not at Cedar Run, but at Culpepper Court House ; and not 
upon the 9 th, but the 8th of August. The space to be traversed 
to effect this, was not unreasonable, (but one day's rapid 
marching) and the blunder by which it was prevented was 
unforeseen. Had liis wishes been attained, it is not unreason- 
able to say, that his victory would have been so much more 
complete as to silence every charge of fruitlessness. For we 
have seen that the supports wliich saved Pope from destruction 
only arrived at nightfall upon the 9tL 



SECOND manassa's. 509 



CHAPTER XVI. 

SECOND MANASSA'S. 

The. battle of Cedar Run was but the prelude to a more 
bloody struggle, wliicli was destined, by a strange coincidence, 
for the historic plains of Manassa's, General Jackson had 
scarcely returned to his encampment near Gordonsville, when 
the gathering of the hostile masses in larger volume began. 
General Lee, convinced that M'Clellan was incapable of farther 
aggression, and that the surest way to remove him finally from 
the peninsula would be to threaten Washington more violently, 
began to remove the remainder of his army from Richmond to 
the Rapid Ann, August 13th; proposing to leave only a small 
force for observation upon his lines there, until the success of his 
experiment was verified. On that day. General Longstreet com- 
menced his march for Gordonsville, and the remainder of the 
troops were moved in the same direction, the division of General 
D. n. Hill bringing up the rear, near the end of the month. Hal- 
leck, the new Federal generalissimo, was also eagerly dictatmg 
the same movement to M'Clellan. He found the '- Grand Ai^my" 
divided into two widely separated fragments, and trembled 
before the activity of Jackson, and the danger of his Capital. 
M'Ciellan accordingly broke up his camps at Berkeley on the 
1 7th of August, and with sore reluctance shipped the decimated 
remains of his troops to Aquia Creek on the Potomac. Disease 
had been carrjdng on the work which the sword had begim, and 



510 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

the fover and dysentery of the country had fearfully thinned hia 
ranks. But meantime, General Burnside had brought his corps 
from North Carolina, and landing it at the same spot on the 
Potomac, had marched it to the support of General Pope in 
Culpepper. 

That commander now had his forces tolerably concentrated 
along tlic line of the Orange Railroad. But ignorant of the first 
principles of strategy and possessed with the vain conceit of 
crossing the Rapid Ann nearer its source, and thus turning 
Jackson's left wing, he had extended his right toward Madison. 
lie did not advert, seemingly, to the fact that this manoeuvre 
gave him a line of operations nearly parallel to his adversary's 
base, and thus exposed his own left and his communications, to a 
more mortal tlu'ust from him. The course of the Rapid Ann, 
which had now manifestly become Jackson's temporary base, is 
north of east; while the curvature of the Orange Railroad 
is such that its com-sc, eastward of Culpepper Court House, is 
parallel to that river, or even brings its stations near the Rappa- 
hannock, nearer to it than at the Court House. Thus the Con- 
federates, without exposing their own communications, had it in 
their power to strike those of Pope at Brandy Station by a 
march shorter than that which would fetch the Federal advance 
back to that place. So obvious an advantage could not escape 
any one except the doughty Pope. Jackson of course seized it 
upon the instant. Upon an elevated hill which is called Clarke's 
Mountain, east of Orange Court House, he had established a 
signal station. Prom this lofty lookout, all the course of the 
Rapid Ann and the plains of Culpepper, white with the enemy's 
tents toward Madison, were visible. As soon, therefore, as the 
troops from Richmond began to arrive. General Jackson left 
Gordonsvillc, and on the 15th of August, marched to the eastern 
base of Clarke's Mountain, where he carefully masked his forces 



POPE ESCAPES TO RAPPAHANNOCK. 511 

near the fords of the Eapid Ann. His signal officer upon the 
peak above, reported to him that the enemy were quiet, or even 
extending their right still farther up the country, unconscious of 
their danger. The Commander-in-Chief, who was now upon the 
ground, appointed the morning of the 18th at dawn of day, for 
the critical movement ; but the dilatoriness of a part of his sub- 
ordinates disappointed the completeness of his combinations, and 
overruling the eagerness of Jackson, lie postponed it until the 
20th. He again issued orders for that day, that all the troops 
should be prepared to advance in light marching order, with 
three days' rations, and throw themselves that afternoon upon 
the enemy's rear. Jackson was to cross the stream at Somer- 
ville's ford, so as to occupy the left, supported by the division of 
General Anderson ; while Longstreet passed below, at Raccoon 
ford, and formed the right. General Stuart, now Major- General 
of cavalry, was to cross with his two brigades of Robertson and 
FitzHugh Lee, and his flying artillery, at Morton's ford, march 
direct for the Rappahannock bridge, destroy it, and then turning 
back along the enemy's line of communication, destroy his trains, 
and fill every place with panic, until he connected with the 
infantry of Longstreet upon the extreme right. It was hoped 
that by these skilful dispositions, the enemy, cut off from his line 
of retreat, and fiercely attacked upon his left, would be routed, 
insulated and destroyed. 

But the issue showed the importance of that element of strate- 
gic combinations, which Jackson so keenly estimated, time. The 
propitious moment was already forfeited by delay. On the 
night of the eighteenth of August, the day when the movement 
should have been made, a handful of fugitive negroes reached 
the army of Pope, and revealed to him enough of the movements 
of the Confederates, to open his eyes to his danger. On the 
nineteenth, as the Commander-in-Chief stood upon his lookout 



512 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

on Clarke's Mountain, tho encampments of the enemy farthest 
Trest were seen to disappear, and as tho day advanced, the rest 
vanished from view like a fleeting vision. Pope was in full 
retreat, eager to place the Eappahannock between himself and 
liis adversary. This was his first lesson upon the soundness of 
his maxim, that a conquering General should leave his communi- 
cations to take care of themselves; and he was destined to 
receive others still ruder. General Lee hastened to pursue, and 
put his army in motion on an early hour of the 20th of August, 
according to the plan already arranged. General Jackson, 
crossing the Rapid Ann at Somerville's ford, marched rapidly 
toward Brandy Station, while General Longstreet, crossing simul- 
taneously below, pressed toward Kelley's Ford on the Eappa- 
hannock. No Federal infantry awaited their approach ; before 
their arrival, all had crossed the latter stream. But their 
cavalry still occupied the Culpepper bank, and were driven 
across by the brigades of Stuart. One of 'these, the brigade 
of Bobertson, formerly the lamented Ashby's, under the eye of 
its Major-General, had a brilliant combat with the enemy's horse 
near Brandy Station, and drove them across the river with loss. 
Pope's whole army was now found massed upon the northern 
bank of the Rappahannock, with a powerful artillery prepared 
to dispute the passage of General Lee. He therefore formed 
the plan of striking his rear at a point still farther north, and 
thus dislodging him, and fighting a general battle. But the con- 
ditions under which the second movement tnust be made, were 
far less favorable than those of the one projected from the Rapid 
Ann ; and the results could not be expected to be so great. The 
Rappahannock, which was then in Pope's rear, and would have 
iDcen a fatal obstacle to the retreat of his defeated army, was 
now in his front, and was his defence. His communications 
were no longer exposed to a direct blow, but could only be 



NEW PLAN AGAINST POPE. 513 

reached by a dangerous, arduous, and circuitous march. And 
when the battle was fought and won, the beaten army woukl be 
witliin a day's march of its place of refuge, the lines of Arling- 
ton. Yet the vigor and courage of Jackson were trusted to 
effect this difficult enterprise. It was determined to march up 
the Rappahannock River, until a practicable crossing was found ; 
and then to throw the corps of Jackson, which, being on the 
left, became the front in this movement, by forced marches to 
Manassa's Junction; and when his threatening presence there 
had called Pope away, to follow with the remainder of the 
army. ' 

The first essay in pursuance of this plan was made on the 
21st of August. General Jackson, leaving the hamlet of Stevens- 
burg, where he had bivouacked, crossed the railroad, and 
approached the river above it, at Beverly's ford. A lodgement 
was effected here by a regiment of cavalry, upon the northern 
bank, which was held until the evening ; but the enemy was 
approaching in such force, that it was deemed inexpedient to 
make the passngc in their presence, and the advanced party was 
withdrawn. The artillery of General Longstreet had meantime 
engaged that of the enemy at the railroad crossing, a few miles 
below, with such success as to compel them to withdraw to their 
works on the north side, and then to burn the bridge and desert 
the position. The morning of August 22nd witnessed a renewal 
of the same proceedings : the two armies advanced slowly up 
the Rappahannock, upon its opposite banks, contesting with each 
other every available crossing, by fierce artillery duels ; and 
attempting upon each other such assaults as occasion offered. 
The co7-]?s of Jackson having passed the Hazel River, a tributary 
of the Rappahannock near its mouth, left its baggage train 
parked there, under the protection of Brigadier-General Trimble, 
of Ewell's division ; while the main force pressed on to secure 

65 



514 LIFE OP LrEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

the bridge leading from Culpepper to Warrenton. The cupidity 
of the enemy was excited by this tempting prize, and they 
crossed to seize it, capturing a few ambulances. These "were 
almost immediately regained, and Trimble, upon receiving the 
support of General Hood, who formed the van of Longstreet's 
corps, attacked the intruders, and drove them with loss to the 
north bank, filling the stream with their floating corpses. A 
similar enterprise attempted on the other hand, by the" Confed- 
erate General Stuart, on tliis day, was as much more successful 
than the Federals, as it was more audacious. Crossing the Rap- 
pahannock, above the enemy's outposts, with a brigade of cavahy, 
he pressed on through the village of Warrenton, and struck the 
rear of thcii' army at Catlctt's Station after nightfall. Finding 
here a detachment of troops, with an extensive encampment, in 
the midst of a furious thunder-storm and Egj^ptian darkness, 
they dashed into it with "a yell, scattering the astounded occu- 
pants to the winds, and capturing a great spoil, with a number 
of prisoners. This encampment was found to contain the head- 
quarters of General Pope; and the baggage, clothing, horses, 
and money of his Staff, as well as his own, rewarded the bold- 
ness of the assailants. Great exertions were also made to 
destroy the important railroad bridge spanning a large creek 
near by ; but the deluge of rain had saturated the timbers beyond 
the possibility of ignition, and the rising freshet underneath, with 
the intense darkness, forbade the men to ply theu* axes with suc- 
cess. Stuart therefore, gathering up his spoils and prisoners, 
returned the way he came, leaving the enemy confounded by his 
seeming ubiquity. Pope thus learned, in a second hard lesson, 
that the communications of an. army arc worthy of its com- 
mander's attention. The gravest loss which he experienced in 
tliis capture, was that of his letter book, which contained copies 
of his confidential despatches to Wasliington, and thus revealed 



HE CROSSES AT WARRENTON SPRINGS. 515 

to General Lee the most intimate secrets of liis numbers, his 
plans, and his pitiable embarrassments. 

General Jackson, reaching the Warrentou road the afternoon 
of the 22nd, found the bridge destroyed, and other evidence that 
the enemy were in close proximity. But they were not yet pre- 
pared to dispute his passage. Opposite to him, on a beautiful 
hill, rose the buildings of a watering place, known as the War- 
renton Springs, or Fauquier White-Sulphur j while to his right, a 
mile below, stretched a forest which clothed the ridge overlook- 
ing the river on that side. He sent the 13th Georgia from 
Lawton'a brigade across, to occupy the Springs ; while Early's 
brigade, supported by two batteries, was passed over on a ruin- 
ous mill-dam a mile below, and occupied the wooded ridge. Bat 
now the darkness of the approaching night and storm arrested 
the passage of other troops ; the floods descended, and the cur- 
rent was speedily swollen so as to become impassable. This 
accident placed the command of Early in extreme peril. The 
advanced parties of the Federalists were hovering around him 
in the darkness, and he had nothing to expect but to be crushed 
at the dawn of day by the whole weight of their army, within 
sight of his friends, but beyond their reach. But his own skill, 
with the wise and firm support of Jackson, rescued him without 
the loss of a man. When the morning came, the latter sent 
word to General Early to associate the 13th Georgia with his 
own brigade, and form the whole across the highlands near the 
watering place, with his left upon the river, and his right upon 
a creek, now equally swollen and impracticable, which here 
approached from the north to mingle its waters with the Rappa- 
hannock. He urged forward, meantime, the construction of a 
temporary bridge ; and, in the afternoon, passed the remainder 
of Lawton's brigade to the support of Early. But the freshet 
which had protected his right was now receding into its banks, 



51 G LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

and the wliolo army of Pope was manifestly at hand. Yet Early 
so adroitly concealed his force in the woods, and held his foes at 
bay with his artillery, that they were able to make no decisive 
attack before nightfall. During the darlmcss he retired safely 
to the southern bank, with his batteries, leaving not a man 
nor a trophy behind. The deliverance of Early was scarcely 
completed before the dawn of the 24th. The troops of Long- 
street had now arrived, and relieved those of Jackson in the 
afternoon of that day. A fierce cannonade was kept up across 
the river, chiefly by the guns of A. P. Hill, by which the 
enemy was occupied, while Jackson retired a few miles from 
the river-bank to the village, of Jefifersouton, relinquishing to 
Longstreet the task of amusing Pope by the appearance of a 
crossing at the Springs. 

While the enemy was thus deluded with the belief that the 
race up the Rappahannock was ended, and that he .now had 
nothing more to do than to hold its northern bank at tliis place, 
General Jackson was preparing, under the instructions of the 
Commander-in-Chief, for the most adventurous and brilliant of 
his exploits. This was no less than to separate himself 
from the support of the remainder of the army, pass around 
Pope to the westward, and place his corps between liim 
and Washington City, at Manassa's Junction, To ciTect 
this, the Rappahannock must be passed on the upper part 
of its course, and two forced marches made through the 
western quarters of the county of Fauquier, which lie 
between the Blue Ridge and the subsidiary range of the Bull 
Run Mountains. Having made a hasty and imperfect issue of 
rations, Jackson disembarrassed himself of all liis trains, save the 
ambulances and the carriages for the ammunition, and left Jef- 
fcrsonton early on the morning of August 25th. Marching first 
westward, he crossed the two branches of the Rappaliannock, 



HE AERIVES AT BRISTOE. 517 

passed the hamlet of Orlean, and paused at night, after a 
march of twenty-five miles, near Salem, a village upon the 
Manassa's Gap Railroad. His troops had been constantly march- 
ing and fighting since the 20th j many of them had no rations, and 
subsisted upon the green corn gathered along the route; yet 
their indomitable enthusiasm and devotion knew no flagging. 
As the weary column approached the end of the day's march, they 
found Jackson, who had ridden forward, dismounted, and stand- 
mg upon a great stone by the road-side. His sun-burned cap 
was lifted from his brow, and he was gazing toward the west, 
where the splendid August sun was about to kiss the distant 
crest of the Blue Ridge, which stretched far away, bathed in 
azure and gold ; and his blue eye, beaming with martial pride, 
returned the rays of the evening with almost equal brightness. 
His men burst forth into their accustomed cheers, forgetting all 
their fatigue at his inspiring presence ; but, deprecating the tri- 
bute by a gesture, he sent an officer to request that there should 
be no cheering, inasmuch as it might betray their presence to the 
enemy. They at once repressed their applause, and passed the 
word down the column to their comrades : " No cheering, boys ; 
the General requests it." But as they passed him, their eyes 
and gestures, eloquent with suppressed affection, silently declared 
what their lips were forbidden to utter. Jackson turned to his 
Stafi", his face beaming with delight, and said : " Who could not 
conquer, with such troops as these ? " His modesty, ever attri- 
buting his glory to his brave men rather than to himself, caused 
him to forget that it was his genius which had made them such 
soldiers as they were. 

On the morning of the 26th, he turned eastward, and passing 
through the Bull Run Mountains, at Thoroughfare Gap, pro- 
ceeded to Bristoe Station, on the Orange Raib-oad, by another 
equally arduous march. At Gainsville, he was joined by Stuart, 



518 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

Tvith his cavalry, who now assumed tho duty of guarding his righl 
flank, and watching the main army of Pope, about Warrcnton 
As the Confederates approached Bristoc Station, about sunset, 
tlie roar of a railroad train proceeding eastward, was heard, 
and dispositions were made to arrest it, by placing the bri- 
gade of Hays, under Colonel Forno, across the track. The 
first train broko through tho obstructions placed before it, and 
escaped. Two others which followed it were captured, but 
were found to contain nothing. The corjjs of Jackson, liad now 
marched fifty miles in two days. The whole army of Pope was 
interposed between it and its friends. They had no supplies 
whatever, save those which they might capture from the enemy. 
But they were between that enemy and his capital, and were 
cheered by the hope of inflicting a vital blow upon him before 
he escaped. This movement would be pronounced wrong, if 
judged by a formal and conmion-place application of the maxims 
of the military art. But it is the very prerogative of true genius 
to know how to modify the application of those rules according 
to circumstances. It might have been objected, that such a 
division of the Confederate army into two parts, subjected it to 
the risk of being beaten in detail; that while the Federal com- 
mander detained and amused one by a detachment, he would 
turn upon the other with the chief weight of his forces, and crush 
it into fragments. Had Pope been a Jackson, this danger would 
have been real ; but because Pope was but Pope, and General 
Lee had a Jackson to execute the bold conception, and a Stuart 
to mask his movement during its progress, the risk was too small 
to forbid the attempt. The promptitude of General Stuart in 
seizing the only signal station whence the line of march could 
possibly be perceived, and the secrecy and rapidity of General 
Jackson in pursuing it, with the energy of his action when he 
had reached his goal, ensured the success of the movement. 



HE ATTACKS MANASSA's JUNCTION. 519 

The first care of the General, after he reached Bristoe, was to 
secure the vast stores accumulated at the Junction, four miles 
North. He determined not to postpone this essential measure 
until the morning, lest the enemy should be able to destroy them ; 
and he therefore accepted the offer of Brigadier- General Trim- 
ble, with the 2ist North Carolina and 21st Georgia regiments, 
to volunteer for this service. Major-Gcneral Stuart was ordered 
to support the attack with a part of his cavalry, and as the supe- 
rior officer in rank, to command the whole detachuient. The 
two regiments of General Trimble had already marched twenty- 
five miles, and the additional distance to the Junction made 
them thirty ] but they set out with an eagerness which emulated 
that of the cavalry. Stuart, having unmasked the enemy's pick- 
ets in front of the fortifications of Manassa's, and having sent 
the regiment of Wickham to the north, in order to arrest the 
retreat of the garrison, Trimble placed his regiments in line 
right and left of the railroad, and advanced steadily to the attack. 
The night was rayless, and the artillery of the place opened upon 
them at short range. They kiaew not what force awaited them 
in the darkness, but dashing forward, they surmounted the works, 
and seized two batteries of field guns, with all their men and 
horses, almost without loss to themselves. The whole entrench- 
ments now fell mto their hands without farther resistance, with 
vast spoils. This gallant attack was a happy illustration of the 
success which may usually be espected from bold and rapid 
movements. The place was found crowded with stores for 
Pope's army, all' of which, with tlu-ee hundred prisoners, eight 
field-pieces, and two hundred and fifty horses, fell into the hands 
of the victors, besides two miles of burden cars, laden with army 
stores and luxuries. The store-houses were found filled with 
bacon, beef, flour, and ammunition. Everything was here which 
the Confederates needed. The confessions of Pope show that 



520 UFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

the loss of these stores was a chief clement of his subsequent dis- 
asters. It discouraged and intimidated his men, and compelled 
them to enter the arduous struggle of the three Lloody days 
\nthout adequate rations or ammunition. 

On the morning of August 2 7th, the two regiments of General 
Trimble, who had been under arms all night were relieved by 
Greneral Jackson's arrival from Bristoe. He brought with him 
the divisions of A. P. Hill and Taliaferro, leaving that of Ewell 
at Bristoe to Avatch for the approach of Pope, with orders to 
make head against him as long as practicable ; but when pressed 
by his main force, to retire and join him at Manassa's. Scarcely 
had General Jackson come upon the ground, when a shot from a 
distant battery upon the left, announced the purpose of the Fed- 
eralists to contest it with him, and a brigade made its appear- 
ance advancing along the railroad from Alexandria. This was 
the detachment of Brigadier-General Taylor, of New Jersey, 
sent out by Halleck to re-open Pope's communications, and to 
brush away what they supposed was a mere inroad of cavalry. 
They advanced with all the conMence of ignorance, until they 
found themselves almost enveloped in the toils. The captm-ed 
guns were turned against them by Stuart and Trimble ; the bat- 
teries of Poague and Carpenter poured destructive volleys upon 
them in front, and the infantry of A. P. Hill tlu'catened them on 
both sides. General Jackson now pitying their desperate situa- 
tion, rode toward them alone, waving a white handkerchief as a 
signal of truce, inviting them to accept quarter. Their answer 
was a volley of rifle balls. Seeing his compassion thus requited 
with treachery, he hastened back to his troops and commanded 
them to let loose their full fury against their foes. In a moment 
the detachment was routed, their commander slain, and the fugi- 
tives, pursued by Hill and Stuart, were cut to pieces and scat- 
tered. 



COMBAT AT BRISTOE. 521 

The General now gave the wearied troops a respite, to recom- 
pense themselves with the spoils, for their labors. Knowing 
that means of transportation would be utterly wanting to remove 
the larger part, he allowed the men to use and carry away what- 
ever they were able to appropriate. And now began a scene in 
ludicrous contrast with tlie toils of the previous forced march. 
Dusty Confederates were seen loading themselves with new 
clothing, boots, hats, and unwonted luxuries. The men who had 
for days fed on nothing but green apples and tlie roasted ears 
of Indian corn, now regaled themselves with sardines, potted 
game, and sweetmeats. For several hours the troops held 
carnival. 

General Ewell was not allowed to remain unmolested at Bris- 
toe all the day. In the afternoon, heavy columns of Federalists 
were seen approaching on the west of the railroad, from the 
direction of Warrenton. The 6th and 8th Louisiana regiments 
of Hays' brigade, with the 60th Georgia, were posted to receive 
them, masked in the edge of the pine thickets, and supported by 
several batteries. Two heavy columns of the enemy advanced 
against them, each consisting of not less than a brigade ; but 
almost at the first volley, they broke and fled in confusion, many 
of them tlu*owing away their arms. Fresh columns, however, 
speedily supplied their places, and it was evident that Pope's 
main force was at hand. General Ewell therefore g-ave the 
word to retire, in order to join his friends at Manassa's. This 
retreat, which must be conducted in the face of a superior force 
actually engaged with them, was a most delicate and difficult 
work ; but was effected in perfect order, and without loss. As the 
tlii'ee regiments which had received the enemy's first attack were 
withdra^vn, the brigade of Early took their places, and held the 
enemy in check, with so much steadiness and adroitness, that 
the stream which sepa;'ated Bristoe from Manassa's was crossed 

66 



522 LIFE OF LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSON. 

safely witlioiit the capture of a single man. The Federalists 
then halted at the former point, and left EwcU to pursue liis 
way unmolested, his rear covered ]iy the cavalry regiments of 
Munford and Rosser. The Railroad bridge across Broad Run 
•was now burned, and after all the troops had supplied their 
■wants &'om the captured stores, the remainder was destroyed. 
This task was committed to the division of Taliaferro, which 
devoted to it the early jDart of the niglit, and then retired toward 
Sudley Church, across the battle-field of July 21st, 1861. There 
they were joined, on the morning of the 28th of August, by the 
division of A. P. Hill, which had marched northward to Ccntre- 
ville, and then returned across the Stone Bridge, and by the 
division of Ewell, which had crossed Bull Run and marched up 
its north bank until it fell into the same route. The cavalry, 
which had scom'ed the country as far as Fairfax Court Horse, 
also assembled on the flanks of the infantry, and the concentra- 
tion of the corps was completed. 

General Jackson had now successMly executed the first part 
of the task entrusted to him. He had pierced the enemy's rear, 
destroyed his supplies, and secured a position between him and his 
Capital. But in doing this, he had drawn upon himself the whole 
of the Federal army, and until the remainder of General Lee's 
forces should arrive, he must either bear the brunt of their 
attacks "with his single corps, reduced by straggling and casualties 
to eighteen thousand men ; or he must retire again toward his 
friends, leaving Pope's operations unobstructed, and thus sur- 
render the larger part of the advantages of his brilliant move- 
ments. Jackson was not the man to do the latter ; he therefore 
selected a position where he could hope to stand successfully at 
bay, and prevent Pope's retreat, until sufficient forces arrived to 
deal with him successfully. One alternative was to remain at 
Manassa's Junction within the old Confederate entrenchments, 



TOPOGRAPHY OF SUDLEY. 523 

but to this there "svere many conclusive objections. The direct 
turnpike road from "Warrenton, where Pope's army was massed, 
to Alexandria ran five miles northwest of the Junction, and 
would be still left open : an avenue more valuable to that Gen- 
eral than the railroad, since its bridges and trains were de- 
stroyed. The Junction, moreover, was a post of limited extent, 
ill furnished with water, situated in a champaign every way 
favorable to the operations of the force having the numerical 
superiority, and denuded of all cover, by the presence of previ- 
ous armies. The other alternative was to retire to the north 
side of the "Warrenton and Alexandria turnpike, nearer to 
Thoroughfare Gap through which Longstreet was expected to 
advance, and there occupy the stronger ground, with the advan- 
tage of retreat upon the Confederate reserves in case of disaster. 
From this position, although the road was not directly obstruct- 
ed, yet the passage of Pope was forbidden ; for his army could 
not expose itself by marching past such a leader as Jackson, 
who sat, with eighteen thousand men, ready to pounce upon its 
exposed flanks. 

If the reader will recall the description of the battle-field of 
the first Manassa's he will have before him the position assumed 
by Jackson. The Warrenton tmmpike, running due east toward 
Alexandria, is. crossed at right angles, a mile and half before it 
passes the Bull Run at the stone bridge, by the country road 
which proceeds northward from the Junction to Sudley ford, at 
which the Federal right first crossed the stream on the morning 
of July 21st, 1861. At this ford, Jackson now rested his left 
wing, protected by the cavaliy brigade of Robertson, while his 
right stretcRed eastward across the hills, in a line oblique to the 
course of Bull Run, toward the road by which Longstreet was 
expected from Thoroughfare Gap. His front was nearly par- 
allel to the Warrenton turnpike, and distant from it, between one 



)1\: 



LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENEltAL JACKSON. 




2nd MANASSA'S. 



FIRST day's battle. 525 

and two miles. The division of A. P. Hill formed his left, that 
of Ewell his centre, and that of Taliaferro, strengthened bj the 
remainder of the cavalry and the horse-artillery of Pelham, his 
right. 

Scarcely had these dispositions been completed, when the ene- 
my was found to be advancing along the "Warrenton turnpike in 
heavy masses, as though to force his way back to Alexandria. 
Mid-day had now arrived. The second brigade of Taliaferro's 
division, under the temporary command of Colonel Bradley T. 
Johnson, which had been detached to watch the turnpike, was 
directed -to skirmish with the front of the Federal column, and 
obstruct their advance. The remainder of the division of Talia- 
ferro, supported by that of Ewell, was marched by its right flank 
and toward the turnpike, to attack the enemy in flank. He, per- 
ceiving this movement, and the obstruction in his front, at first 
attempted to file his masses across the open country toward 
Manassa's Junction, as though to seek some passage over Bull 
Run below the stone bridge. But Jackson now threw forward 
his line with so much energy as to compel Mm to relinquish this 
movement, and make a stand. The batteries of Wooding, Car- 
penter, and PoagTie were advanced to an elevated hill upon the 
left and rear of Taliaferro's line of skirmishers, whence they 
delivered so effective a fire of shell and solid shot upon the 
dense lines of the Federalists, that their numerous batteries were 
halted, and placed in position to reply. The Confederate artil- 
lery was then promptly removed to another position upon Talia- 
ferro's right, whence they were enabled to enfilade the Federal 
guns ; and the infantry line was again pressed forward, with its 
front parallel to the "Warrenton turnpike, and within a hundred 
yards of it. Sunset was now near at hand, when a struggle com- 
menced unprecedented in its fury. On Taliaferro's right, the par- 
tial screen of an orchard and a cluster of farm-buildings separated 



52 G LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEJ^ERAL JACKSON. 

him from the liigliway, wMcli was occupied by the Federal infantry. 
But, on his left, his line occupied the open field, and received and 
returned their volleys at the distance of a hundred yards. Until 
nine o'clock at night, the fii"st, third, and fourth brigades main- 
tained a stubborn contest upon this ground with successive lines 
of tlie enemy, when the latter sullenly retired, and gave up the 
field. On the left of Taliaferro, Ewell, with a part of his forces, 
waged a contest of almost equal fury, and with the same results, 
when the darkness closed the battle, and the Confederates 
remained masters of the field. In this bloody affair, both tlie 
Commanders of the divisions engaged, with many field-officers, 
were wounded, Taliaferro painililly, and Ewell severely. The 
latter was struck upon the knee by a rifle-ball, and the 
joint was so shattered that amputation was necessary to save 
his life. During the remainder of Jackson's career he was 
unable to return to the field, and the General was deprived of 
his valued co-operation. The fii'st of the tlu-ee bloody days was 
now closed, and Jackson stoutly held his own. With one more 
struggle his safety would be assured; for the Commander-in- 
Chief, with the coriis of Longstreet, leaving the neighborhood of 
Jeffersonton on the afternoon of the 2Gth, and following the route 
of Jackson through upper Fauquier, was^now at the western out- 
let of Thoroughfare Gap, preparing to force his way through, the 
next morning, and come to the relief of the laboring advance. 
On the morning of the 29th this pass was forced; and iha corps 
of Longstreet, stimulated by the sound of the distant cannon, 
which told them that Jackson was struggling with the enemy, 
hurried along tlie road to Gainesville, where they entered the 
Warrenton turnpike. Before they reached that village, the 
indefatigable Stuart, with his cavahy, met them, opened then* 
communication with Jackson's right wmg, and informed the 
Commander-in-Chief of the posture of affairs. ' 



APPROACH OP LOXGSTREET. 527 

But the narrative must return to the lines of General Jackson. 
Anxiously did that General watch the distant road which led 
from Thoroughfare Gap down to the Warrenton turnpike, on the 
morning of the 29th. His little army was now manifestly con- 
fi'onted by the whole Federal host, which, concentrating itself 
more toward his left, was preparing to force him back from Bull 
Run, and to crush him before his supports could arrive. Ilis 
lines, exhausted by their almost superhuman exertions, thinned 
by battle, and pallid with hunger, stood grimly at bay ; but the 
stoutest hearts were anxious, in view of the more terrible sh'uggie 
before them. In the early morning, clouds of dust arising along 
the Thoroughfare road had mocked their hopes ; but they were 
raised by the Federalists, who, having occupied that pass the day 
before to obstruct the march of Longstreet, were now retiring 
upon their masses toward Bristoe Station. As the day verged 
toward the meridian, other and denser clouds again arose, along 
the same highway ; and soon the com-iers of Stuart came, with 
the welcome news, that it was the corps of Longstreet, advancing 
to connect with the right of Jackson. Already the Federalists, 
warned of the shortness of their time, had begun the attack by a 
heavy cannonade upon that part of his position, at ten o'clock. 
The batteries of Taliaferro's division now commanded by the brava 
General Starke, replied. But the head of General Longstreet's 
column was now at hand, and threatened to insinuate itself 
behind the Federal left. They therefore shifted their demon- 
stration to Jackson's left, opening upon that part of his position 
with a furious cannonade, and preparing vast masses of infantry 
to force it. While Longstreet deployed his line across the 
Warrenton turnpike, and. fronting toward the east, Jackson's 
corps was now disposed at right angles to it, along the excava- 
tions and embankments of an unfinished railroad, which, crossing 
Bull Run a half mile below Sudley, ran westward, parallel to the 



VK, \^ 



^ V 



528 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

Warrenton turnpike. This work had been begun to connect 
the city of Alexandria directly with the Manassa's Gap road 
near Thoroughfare. Running across the hills and vales of an 
undulating country, and presenting now an elevated embankment 
inid anon a cut, it offered to the Confederates almost the advan- 
tages of a regular field-work. Here General Jackson had 
arranged his infantry in two lines of battle, with the artillery 
chiefly posted upon eminences in the rear. A. P. Hill formed 
his left, E well his centre, and Starke his right. An interval 
between his right and the left of Longstrcct was occupied by a 
large collection of the artillery of the latter, posted upon a large 
hill, whence they assisted, by their fire, in the repulse of the 
enemy on cither hand. Pope, now contenting himself with 
showing a front against Longstreet, began, at two o'clock, P. M., 
to hurl his infantry with fury and determination against the 
lines of Jackson. Especially did the storm of battle rage in 
front of the left, occupied by the division of A. P. Hill. In 
defiance of liis deadly fire, delivered from the shbltcr of the 
raili'oad embankments, line after line was advanced to close 
quarters, only to be mowed down, and to recoil in confusion. 
Soon the second line of Hill was advanced to the support of the 
first. Six times the Federalists rushed forward in separate and 
obstinate assaults, and as many times were repulsed. At an 
interval between the brigade of Gregg, on the extreme left, and 
that of Thomas, the enemy broke across in great numbers, and 
tlireatened to separate the former from his friends, and surround 
liim. But two regiments of the reserve, advancing within ten 
\KicQS of the triumphant foe, poured suchivolleys into their dense 
masses that they were hurled back before this murderous fire, 
and the lines re-established. The brigade of Hays from the 
division of Ewell, now commanded by General Lawton, was first 
brouglit to the support of Gregg. Tlie struggle raged mitil the 



SECOND day's battle, 529 

cartridges of the infantry were in many places exhausted. When 
Hill sent to the gallant Gregg to ask if he could hold his own, 
he answered, " Tell him I have no ammunition, but I will hold 
my position with the bayonet." In several places, the Confed- 
erate lines, without a single round of cartridges, lay in the 
railroad cuts, within a few yards of their enemies, sternly 
defying their nearer approach with the cold steel, while the 
staff-officers from the rear sent in a scanty supply of ammunition, 
by the hand of some daring volunteer, who ventured to run the 
gantlet of a deadly fire to reach them. In other parts the men, 
laying aside their empty muskets, seized the stones which lay 
near, and with them beat back the foe. When the bloody field 
was reviewed, not a few were found whose skulls were broken 
with these primitive weapons. But the strength of the extreme 
left was now exhausted by seven hours of strife ; nature could 
do no more; and General Jackson ordered Early, with his 
brigade and the 8th Louisiana and 13th Georgia, to relieve 
Gregg arid Hays. The enemy had by this time occupied a 
considerable tract of the railroad, and the woods in front of it. 
Early advanced upon them, drove them out of the thickets and 
across the excavation with fearful slaughter, and pursued them 
for a distance beyond it, when he was recalled to the original 
line. With this magnificent charge, the struggle of the day 
closed. It had raged in similar manner along the centre, where 
that sturdy veteran, Brigadier-General Trimble, was severely 
wounded. But the carnage upon the left was most ghastly. 
Here might be seen upon the fields, the black lines of corpses, 
clearly defining the positions where the Federal lines of battle 
had stood and received the deadly volleys of the Confederates ; 
while the woods and railroad cuts were thickly strewn for a 
mile with killed and womided. In the division of Hill the loss 
was also serious ; and among the severely wounded were two 

67 



530 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

brigade commanders, Field and Forno. During the heat of the 
battle, a detachment of Federal troops had penetrated to Jack- 
son's rear, near Sudley Church, and captured a few 'vrounded 
men and ambulances. The horse artillery of Pelham, with a 
battalion of cavalry, under Major Patrick, speedily brushed the 
annoyance away, and recovered the captures. But this incident 
cost the army the loss of one of its most enlightened and efficient 
officers, the chivalrous Patrick, who was mortally wounded while 
pursuing the fugitives. 

While this struggle was raging along Jackson's lines, the corps 
of Longstreet continued to confront the observing force of 
Federalists before them, and the batteries of his left engaged 
those of the enemy in a severe cannonade. As the afternoon 
advanced, Stuart reported to him the approach of a heavy 
column of the enemy upon his right and rear, from the direction 
of Bristoe. This was indeed a corps of the army of M'Clcllan 
from the peninsula, which, landing on the Potomac, had been 
pushed forward to support Pope. Against this new enemy Long- 
street showed a fi-ont, while Stuart, raising a mighty dust along 
the road near Gainsvillc, by causing a number of his troopers to 
drag bundles of brushwood along the highway, persuaded him 
that some heavy mass of fresh Confederate troops was advanc- 
ing from Thoroughfare to meet his assault upon Longstreet's 
right. The Federal commander therefore recoiled, after a feeble 
demonstration ; and, passing by a circuit to the eastward, sought 
to unite liimself with the forces in front of Jackson. Longstreet 
now advanced several brigades to the attack, with those of Hood 
in the van, and until nine o'clock at night, drove back the enemy 
before him with great vigor, capturing a number of prisoners, a 
cannon, and tlu-ee colors. Darkness then closed the bloody day, 
and the Confederates on every side withdrew to lie upon their 
arms upon their selected lines of combat. From this respite, 



LEE RESUMES THE DEFENSIVE. 531 

the boastful Pope took the pretext to despatch to his masters a 
pompous bulletin of victory, claiming that the Confederates were 
repulsed on all hands ! With a stupidity equal to his impu- 
dence^ he concealed from hims(3lf the fact that this lull in the 
tempest -was but the prelude to its final and resistless burst. 
The mighty huntsman now had the brutal game secure in his 
toils, and only awaited the moment of his exhaustion to despatch 
him. 

As Jackson gathered his officers around him in the darkness, 
at the close of this second act of the tragedy, and prepared to lie 
down for a short repose under the open sky, their triumph wore 
a solemn hue. A week of marching and fighting, without any 
regular supply for their wants, had worn clown their energies to a 
grade where nothing but a determined will could sustain them. 
Many of the bravest and best had fallen, and the sufferers and 
the dead were all around them. The Medical Director, Doctor 
M'Guire, recounting the many casualties which he had witnessed, 
said, " General, this day has been won by nothing but stark and 
stern fighting." "No," said Jackson, "It has been won by 
nothing but the blessing and protection of Providence." It was 
strong evidence of the devout spirit of the patriot troops, that 
amidst all these fatigues and horrors, they yet found time for 
acts of devotion. The Chaplains, after spending the day in 
attentions to the wounded, at nightfall returned to their regi- 
ments, and gathered such groups in the woods as could be sj)ared 
from the watches, where they spent a season in prayer and 
praise. Many were the brave men who joined in these strange 
and solemn prayer-meetings, whose next worship was offered in 
the upper sanctuary. 

The advance of Longstreet at nightfall, upon the Confederate 
right had disclosed the fact that the Federalists were posted, in 
heavy masses, upon a position of great natural strength. The 



532 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

choice offered to General Lee now was, to leave tlic favoraLle 
ground which he had chosen, and taking the aggressive, to dis- 
lodge them at a great cost : or else to await their attack, with 
the prospect of turning then' retreat into a disaster if they 
attempted to ctoss Bull Run in his immediate front and retire 
without fighting. He well knew that Pope would scarcely be so 
rash as to attempt the latter expedient ; for the two armies were 
now at such close quarters, that there was no room for either- to 
turn away without a deadly side blow from the other ;. and the 
Federal commander had been so obliging, as to manoeuvre him- 
self into a position which had the- stream immediately in its rear, 
with two practicable crossings for artillery, of wliich one was a 
stone arch which a few well directed round shot might have dis- 
mantled. General Lee, therefore, calmly awaited the final strug- 
ple, standing on the defensive in his previous lines. These 
formed a vast, obtuse fourcliette^ presenting its concavity toward 
the enemy. The left of Lougstreet did not touch the right of 
Jackson at the angle ; but a space of half a mile between the 
two was occupied by an elevated ridge, which commanded the 
fronts of both wmgs. This liill was now crowned with the artil- 
lery battalions of Shumaker of Jackson's corj)s^ and S. D. Lee of 
Longstreet's, making an aggregate of thirty-six pieces. From 
this arrangement it resulted, first, that the troops of Pope, oper- 
ating within the jaws of the Confederate army, would naturally 
become more densely massed than their opponents, and would 
thus afford a more certain mark for their accurate fire ; wliich 
no force on earth could ever face in close order, without mur- 
derous loss. The second result was, that the superior inoincntum 
of the Federal masses must yet result only in a bloody failure, 
when hurled against cither wing of the Confederates, because they 
would be enfiladed from the other wing. By these dispositions, 
the battle was decided before it was fought. The only gleam of 



THE THIED DAYS BATTLE. 533 

good sense •which. the ill starred Federal leader showed, was in 
delaying the decisive hour until the late afternoon ; so that the 
friendly darkness might speedily supervene upon the disaster 
which was destmed to follow, and save him from utter destruc- 
tion. The forenoon of Saturday, August 30th, was therefore 
spent in a desultory cannonade, addressed first to one, and then 
to another part of the Confederate lines, with irregular skirmishes 
interspersed. He was employed in disposing his infantry, under 
cover of the woods and valleys, chiefly in Jackson's front ; for 
against him he again destined his main attack. The infantry of 
the latter was still posted along the unfinished railroad, in two 
lines, the first sheltered, where the ground was favorable, by the 
excavations and embankments, and the second massed upon the 
wooded hills above. At half past three o'clock, the enemy made 
a show of attack along the lines of Longstreet. But scarcely 
had this begun, when they advanced, without preliminary skir- 
mishing, in enormous masses, against Jackson. Three lines of 
battle surged forward like mighty waves, and rolled up to the 
Confederate position. As one recoiled before their fire, another 
took its place, with a dogged resolution, as though determined to 
break through by sheer weight of numbers. The Federal flags 
were planted sometimes within twenty paces of the excavations 
which contamed the opposing line ; and again the Confederates, 
after exhausting their ammunition, resorted to the stones of the 
field to beat back their assailants. When this furious struggle 
had raged for half an hour, and the wearied lines of Jackson was 
yielding at some points, he sent word to Longstreet to move for 
his relief. But his desire was already anticipated ; the artillery 
in the centre was advanced, and wherever the attacking lines 
of Federalists exposed themselves before Jackson's front, it 
showered a crushing and enfilading fire upon them. The third 
and second lines were first broken, and the woods in which they 



534 LIFE OF LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSON. 

attempted to rally searched with shells. Meantime, the artillery 
of Ewcll's and Hill's divisions, from Jackson's rear and left, 
joined in the melte as position offered. Before this fire in front 
and flank, the Federal lines wavered, broke, and resolved them- 
selves into huge hordes of men, without order or guidance. 
General Jackson now ordered the advance of his wliole line of 
infantry; and -the Commander-in-Chief, seeing that the moment 
fo]> the final /"blow had come, sent a similar order to his right 
wing. But its energetic leader had divined his wishes, and had 
already begun the movement. Over several miles of hill and 
dale, of field and forest, the two lines now swept forward, with a 
terrible grandeur, closing upon the disordered masses of the 
enemy like the jaws of a leviathan; while Jackson upon the 
left, and Stuart upon the right, urged forward battery after bat- 
tery -at a gallop, to sieze every commanding hill whence they 
could fire between the gaps, or over the heads of the infantry, 
and plough up the huddled * crowds of fugitives. But at many 
points, these did not yield without stubborn resistance. The 
brigades of Jackson dashed at them with fierce enthusiasm, and 
such scenes of close encounter and murderous strife were wit- 
nessed, as are not often seen on fields of battle. The supreme 
hour of vengeance had now come ; in the expressive phrase of 
Cromwell, the victors " had their will upon their enemies." As 
they drove them for two miles toward Bull Run, they strewed 
the ground with slaughter, until fury itself was sated and 
fiitigued with the carnival of blood. And now, night again 
closed upon the tliird act of the tragedy, black with a double 
gloom of the battle smoke and a gathering storm ; but still the 
pursuers plied their work with cannon shot and fierce volleys, 
fired into the populous darkness before them. At ten o'clock 
they ceased their pursuit^ for they found that amidst the confu- 
sion of the field, and the obscurity, friend could no longer be 



THE ROUT AND CARNAGE. 53 

distinguislied from foe. The arm}^ then lay down to rest upon 
tlie ground tliey had won ; while all night long, the broken frag- 
ments of the Federalists were stealing across the stream, and 
retreating to the heights of Centrcville. 

In this tlu-ee days' battle, the Confederate loss was heavy, 
but that of their enemies was frightful. Compared to it, the car- 
nage of the Chickahominy was child's play. The bloody field 
told the story of the disproportion for itself, and when the Fed- 
eral surgeons came upon it under a flag of truce, such was the 
multitude of the wounded lying helpless upon it, that days were 
exhausted in collecting them, while many wretches perished 
miserably of neglect during the delay. This disproportionate 
carnage was due to the masterly handling of the Confederate 
troops, to their advantageous position, to the density of the ene- 
my's masses, and especially to the terrible moment of the rout, 
when the work of destruction was pursued, for a time, without 
resistance. The Sabbath morning dawned upon a scene in most 
fearful contrast with its peace and sanctity. The storm which 
had gathered during the night was descending in a comfortless 
rain, drenching the ghastly dead, the miserable wounded, and the 
weary victors. The soldiers of Jackson arose from the ground 
stiffened with the cold, and after devoting a few hours to 
refreshment; resumed the march, while those of Longstreet 
remained to bury the dead and collect the spoils. Stuart had 
reported that he found the enemy rallied upon the heights of 
Centrcville, commanding the Warrenton turnpike, where General 
Joseph E. Johnston had constructed a powerful line of works, 
the first winter of the war, which were capable of defence either 
in front or rear. Here the fragments of Pope, supported by 
large reinforcements from the army of M^Clellan, again showed a 
front against the pursuers. Jackson was therefore directed to 
turn this position, and compel the retreat of the enemy from it 



536 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXEEAL JACKSON. 

without a battle. To effect this, he crossed the Bull Run at 
Sudley, aud marching northward by a country road, came the 
next day into the Little River turnpike, which leads eastward, 
and intersects the AVarrenton road at Fairfax Court House, far 
in the rear of Centreville. No sooner was this movement per- 
ceived by the enemy, than they resumed a hasty retreat. But as 
their crowded column approached Fairfax Court House, they 
found Jackson at hand, prepared to strike their line of march 
from the side. They therefore detached a strong force to make 
head against him, and posted it upon a ridge near the little ham- 
let of Germantown. As soon as Jackson ascertained the position 
of this force, he thi'cw his infantry into line of battle. Hill on the 
right, Ewell in the centre, and his old division on the left, and 
advanced to the assault. The enemy, knowing that the salvation 
of their army depended upon them, made a desperate resistance, 
and the combat assumed a sudden fury in the front of Hill, equal 
to that of any previous struggle. The enemy were encouraged 
by a momentary success in breaking Hayes' brigade, but his lines 
were immediately reinstated by the reserves, and after a short 
but bloody strife, the battle died away as suddenly as it had 
begun, and the enemy retu-ed in the darkness. This affair, 
which was known as the battle of Ox Hill, closed the evening of 
September 1st. Its thunders were aggravated by those of a 
tempest, which burst upon the combatants just before the battle 
was joined, and the Confederates fought under the disadvan- 
tage of the rain, which was swept by a violent wind directly into 
their faces. Tavo Federal Generals fell here, in front of Hill's 
division, Kearney and Stephens, and their death doubtless com- 
pleted the discouragement of their troops. The next morning, 
the Federalists were within reach of their powerful works before 
Washington, and the pursuit was arrested. The Commander-in- 
Chief now purposed to transfer the strife to a new anna. 



HIS SHARE IN THE VICTORY. 537 

The total loss of the Confederate army in this series of battles 
was about seven thousand five hundred, of whom eleven hundred 
were killed upon the field. Of this loss, nearly five thousand 
fell upon the corps of Jackson ; out of which number eight hun- 
dred and five officers and men were killed. The captures from 
Iiim, in the whole of the long struggle, amoimted to only thirty- 
five. The excessive loss in his command is explained by the 
fact that it was always the advance, and that the enemy continu- 
ally directed the chief fury of his attacks upon him. The results 
of the battle of Manassa's were the capture of seven thousand 
prisoners, in addition to two thousand wounded left in the hands 
of the Confederates ; with twenty thousand small arms, thirty 
pieces of artillery, numerous colors, and a large amount of stores ; 
and the deliverance of Northern Virginia from the footsteps of 
the invader, save where he still clung to a few miles along the 
Potomac included witliin his works. General Jackson closed 
his Eeport of the Campaign with these words : — 

" For these great and signal victories our sincere and humble 
thanks are due unto Almighty God. We should in all things 
acknowledge the hand of Him who reigns hi Heaven, and rules 
among the armies of men. In view of the arduous labors and 
great privations the troops were called to endure, and the iso- 
lated and perilous position which the command occupied, while 
engaged with greatly superior numbers of the enemy, we can but 
express the grateful conviction of our mind, that God was with 
us, and gave us the victory; and unto His holy name be the 
praise." 

Few words are needed to point out the share which Jackson 
and his corps merited, in the glory of the second victory of Ma- 
nassa's. To the rapjdity of his march, the promptitude and skill 
of his action in seizing and destroying the Junction, the wisdom 
which guided his selection of a position, and the heroic tenacity 

68 



538 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSOX. 

with wlucli lie held it against fearful odds until the arrival of 
General Lee, Avas the splendid result chicflj due. It was so 
ordered, as if to illustrate the superior prowess of the Confed- 
erate soldiery, that in this battle the positions of the combatants 
in July, 1861, were almost precisely reversed. The ground held 
by Jackson in the second battle, was that held by McDowell in 
the fii'st; and the ground Irom which the Confederates drove 
Pope, at nightfall, the 30th of August, was that from which 
M'Dowell could not drive them, on the 21st of July; while the 
preponderance of numbers was still upon the Federal side. 

The blunders of Pope in this short campaign, — which were 
almost as numerous as it was possible to make them, — are an 
instructive study to the commanders of armies. Fii'st, it was 
little short of lunacy to adopt, in Culpepper, a line of operations 
along the Orange Eailroad, and even west of it, which was paral- 
lel to the Rapid Ann — the temporary base of the Confederates 
— in the presence of such masters of the art of war as Lee and 
Jackson. Instead of extending his right so far toward Madison, 
with the preposterous design of turning Gordonsville, upon the 
west, ho should have du'ccted the head of his column toward the 
lower course of the Rapid Ann, and perpendicular to it. He 
would thus have covered his own line of advance ; and, if he suc- 
ceeded in crossing that river, would have uncovered the commu- 
nications of his adversary, which would then have been by the 
Central Railroad. Nothing but the delay of Lee's reserves in 
reaching Raccoon Ford, saved Pope here from a disaster far 
worse than that of Manassa's. Second : after retiring across the 
Rappahannock, — wliich was a measure dictated by so strmgcnt 
a necessity that a fool could not err therein, — he repeated the 
old, but seductive folly, of attempting to hold a river as a defen- 
sive line, by extending his whole force along its immediate bank, 
to watch and resist the passage of his opponent. Although a 



EEMAEKS. 539 

river is, to some extent, a barrier to the assailant attempting to 
cross it in the face of a force defending it; jet, if the latter con- 
sigTis itself to the stationary defensive along its banks, the other is 
always enabled thereby to baffle his vigilance at some one point ; 
or to mass at a single spot a preponderance of force, which will 
more than compensate him for the resistance of the natural 
obstruction, and break its way over it. Then the barrier, broken 
at one point, becomes useless, and must be forsaken at aU. Such 
was the result here ; the stream was passed above Pope's right, 
before he was in condition to prevent it. His next mistake was 
in the singular inefficiency of his cavalry, wliich seems to have 
been more busy in harrying the hen-roosts of the citizens, than 
in ascertaining whither the swift-footed Jackson was bent, when 
he disappeared to the northwest from his position before War- 
renton Springs. Thus Pope was left in a shameful ignorance, 
even after his communications were cut at Bristoe Station, 
whether it was done by a serious force, or by an audacious 
incursion of horse. But on the evening of the 27th, at least, he 
was taught, in a bloody lesson by Ewell, that he had a formida- 
ble foe in his rear. The plainest deduction might have convinced 
him, that such a General as Lee would not have placed such a 
body of infantry and artillery, as he saw grimly confronting him 
across Broad Eun at the close of that combat, so far from its 
base, without powerful supports. 

Fromi that moment the goal of safety for Pope should have 
been Centreville ; and he should have lost no time in concentrat- 
ing his whole army by forced marches, to strike the formidable 
obstruction from his rear, and secure his retreat thither. There 
he would have been front to front with his adversary once more, 
and within reach of the support of M'Clellan, by whose aid he 
might have advanced again, and quickly resumed his lost ground. 
But although it is but one march from Warrenton, where his 



540 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

headquarters "were, to Manassa's, two and a half precious days 
were wasted, between the 2Gth, when Jackson struck Bristoe, 
and the 29th, when Longstreet reached his right; and neither 
was Jackson crushed, nor Thoroughfare Gap effectually held, nor 
the army safely transferred to Centrcville. At mid-day, on the 
29 th, the arrival of Longstreet rendered his fortunes difficult 
enough j but, as though he were intent to make them desperate, 
when his left was incommoded by the appearance of Longstreet's 
column behind it, instead of retiring squarely from his antago- 
nists, keeping his right upon Bull Run, until his left met the 
support of the approaching column of Fitz-Jolm Porter, from 
Aquia, he w^eakly sought to disengage his left, by mana^uvriug to 
his right, and again confining his onset to the lines of Jackson. 
These were skilfully retracted, to lead him into the trap ; and 
the result was, that on the third and decisive day, he was com- 
pelled to fight with the stream in his immediate rear, and with 
liis whole army inclosed within the limits of the fatal fourchette. 
The Confederates might well pray that such leaders should ever 
command the armies of their enemies. 

Tliis chapter will bo closed with a characteristic letter from 
General Jackson to his wife. 

«' Septembee 1st, 1862. 

"Wo were engaged with the enemy at and near Manassa's 
Junction Tuesday and Wednesday, and again near the battle-field 
of I\Ianassa's on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday j in all of which 
God was with us, and gave us the victory. All Glory be to His 
holy name ! May He ever be with us, is my earnest prayer, and 
wo ever be His devoted people. It greatly encourages me to feel 
that so many of God's people are praying for that part of our 
forces under my command. The Lord has answered their 
prayers ; and my trust is in Him, that He will still continue to do 



EillNENCE OF HIS CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 541 

SO. God, in His providence, lias again placed lis across Bull 
Run ; and I praj that He will make our arms entirely successful, 
and that the glory will be given to His holy name, and none of 
it to man. 

'' ' God has blessed and preserved me through His great 
mercy.' " 

Thus his soul dwelt habitually upon the plain and familiar 
promises of Gospel blessings, with a simplicity of faith like that 
of the little child. He did not entertain his mind with theological 
refineruents and pretended profundities or novelties ; but fed it 
with those known truths which are the common nourishment of 
all God's people, wise and simple, and which are, therefore, the 
greatest truths of redemption. The emmence of his CInistian 
character was not in that he affected to see doctrines unknown 
or recondite to others ; but in this : that he embraced the doc- 
trines common to all, with a faith so entire and prevalent. This 
character of his religion often suggested to those less spiritually 
minded than liimself the opinion, that his was a common-place 
understanding. They forgot that it is by receiving the kingdom 
of God as a little child that we must enter therein. When they 
met Jackson in council or in action, in his own profession, they 
soon learned their mistake, and recognized in him the original 
force and power of true greatness. 



542 LIFE OP LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSON. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE CAMPAIGN IN MARYLAND. 

Tde Confederates had abundant reason to be satisfied with 
the results of the summer's operations. With an aggregate of 
about eighty thousan.d men in all Virginiaj they had rescued the 
State from the grasp of M-'Clellan, with his two hundred and 
twenty-three thousand. No invaders now polluted its soil, save 
at the fortified posts along the coast, where they were protected 
by their overwhelming naval forces, at Alexandria, and at Har- 
per's Ferry, and Martinsburg in the Great Valley. The power- 
ful expedition of Burnside had been recalled from North 
Carolina, leaving no fruits of its exertions in the hands of his 
Government, except the occupation of a few feeble places. The 
"grand army " had been reduced by battle, desertions, captures, 
and sickness, from its huge proportions, so that M'Clellan was 
now able to set in the field only ninety thousand men, by con- 
ccntratiug all those parts which had lately outnumbered and 
oppressed the Confederates, from the extreme west of Mar^dand 
to the capes of the Carolinian coast. The grateful people of 
the South might well exclaim with Jackson, in view of so grand 
a deliverance: "Behold! what hath God wrought 1" 

General Lee now determined to pursue his adva?itagcs by 
invading the country of his enemy in turn, and thus giving such 
occupation to him as would secure to Virginia, during the 
remaiuder of the season, a respite from the cruel devastations it 



POLICY OF INVASION OF MARYLAND. 543 

had so long suffered. The temper of the South demanded it, 
swelling with the grief of its mighty wrongs, and hungering for 
righteous retribution. Wise policy dictated that tho soil of 
Virginia should, if possible, be relieved of the burden of the 
invading and the patriot armies, which it had so long borne, 
and that their ravages should be retorted upon the aggressor. 
Maryland, it was known, had succumbed reluctantly to his yoke, 
and the hope was entertained that the presence of the southern 
army would inspirit its people to attempt something in aid of 
their own liberation : or that, at least, the well-grounded fears 
of the despot lest their discontent should endanger his Capital, 
Avould detain so large a force to defend it and to hold them 
prostrate, that his army in the field might be defeated upon their 
own soil, and a successful incursion might carry a wholesome 
terror into the heart of Pennsylvania. The two veteran divi- 
sions of E.. H, Anderson and D. H. Hill had now overtaken the 
main army, diminished indeed by the losses of the peninsular 
campaign, but in excellent condition. Indeed, the former of 
these had reached Manassa's plains on the SOth" of August, 
early enough to support Longstreet's centre, in its decisive ad- 
vance against Pope. The fragments of his army, reinforced 
by M'Clellan, were now ensconced within their lines near Alex- 
andria, under the skilful direction of the latter General; and to 
attack them there would be attended with too prodigal a waste of 
patriot blood. General Lee therefore determined to turn aside 
and promptly cross the Potomac. But notwithstanding the ac- 
cessions he had just received, he was made conscious, in the 
very attempt, of that cruel disparity of means and numbers, 
which robbed the Confederates of the larger part of the fruits of 
their heroism. The invasion of Maryland, he well knew, would 
stimulate that recruiting of the depleted armies of the enemy, 
which their population made so easy ; while he could expect no 



544 ' LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

material increase of his force. Tlicy would operate along great 
raili'oads, and sustain their troops with a lavish supply of trans- 
portation, stores, and ammunition, from their vast depots just at 
hand. lie had now left his railroad communication far behind, 
and must provide for the wants of his army with scanty trains of 
wagons ; while ordnance, clothing, and shoes were deiicient, and 
impossible to obtain in adequate quantities. No generals, there- 
fore, ever adopted a bolder project than that of Lee and Jack- 
son, or executed it with greater promptitude. The battle of Ox 
Hill ended at nightfall, September 1st, amidst thunder, tempest, 
and a deluge of rain. On the 2nd the last rcmams of the beaten 
Federals were whipped in under the shelter of their ramparts. 
On the 3rd the Confederate army was upon the march for the 
fords of the Potomac ! 

The invasion determined on, two places ofFered themselves 
to General Lcc for penetrating into Maryland. If he removed 
his army dkectly across the Blue Ridge to the Lower Valley, he 
could easily brash away the force which occupied Martinsburg ; 
when the valley of central Pennsylvania would lie open before him, 
and his own line of communication could be establislicd with the 
Central Vii'giuia Railroad at Staunton, along that still abundant 
country. Or else, he might cross the Potomac between the 
Federal fortifications and the Blue Ridge, and entering the mid- 
dle regions of Maryland, proceed as the movements of the 
enemy should indicate. He adopted the latter plan. His pm*- 
pose was, first to draw the Federal army from the Virginian 
bank hj violently threatening their Capital and Baltimore, from 
the other side, so that his field hospitals at Manassa's Plains, 
liis own communications toward Orange, and the important work 
of removing his prisoners, wounded and spoils, from the scene of 
his late triumphs, might be relieved from their incursions for a 
season. lie also hoped, that when the head of his great column 



HE CROSSES THE POTOMAC. 545 

began to insinuate itself between Washington and Harper's 
Ferrj, tlie Federal detachment at the latter place would act upon 
tlio obvious dictate of the military art, evacuate that place to 
him without a struggle, and retire into communication with their 
friends ; thus clearhig his left of that annoyance. His purpose 
was then to move toward AYestern Maryland and Central Penn- 
sylvania, establish his communications with the valley of Virginia, 
and drawing the Federalists afar from their base at Washington, 
fight them beyond the mountains. He therefore put the army in 
motion, September the 3rd, with the cavalry of Stuart and the 
fresh- division of D. H. Hill in front, followed by the corps of 
Jackson, which still formed the body of the advanced force. He 
marched to Drainsville that day, and to Leesburg, the county- 
seat of Loudoun, the 4th of September. On the 5th, the cotys 
passed the Potomac, at White's Ford, near Edwards' Ferry, a 
few miles distant, just below the scene of the bloody repulse of 
Ball's bluff, and established themselves upon the soil of Maryland 
without opposition. At this place the great river spreads itself 
out to the width of more than half a mile, over a pebbly and 
level bed ; and its floods, reduced in volume by the summer 
heats, were but two or three feet deep. The infantry, and 
even the cannoneers passed, by wading through the water. All 
day long the column poured across, belting the shining river with 
a thin, dark line ; and as the feet of the men were planted upon 
the northern bank, they uttered their enthusiasm in hearty cheers. 
Many a gallant man, who now touched that soil, was destined to 
sleep, till the last day, within it, in a stranger's grave. The first 
care of the Confederates, after gaining the northern l^ank, was 
to interrupt the navigation of the canal effectually, by destroying 
its locks, and opening the embankments, so that the waters 
escaped and left its bed dry. Jackson then advanced northward, 
and on the 6th of September occupied the Baltimore and Ohio 

69 



546 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

Railroad, and the flourishing town of Frederick, The arrival of 
the Confederates in Maryland awakened in a part of the popu- 
lation a faint glow of enthusiasm. A committee of citizens met 
General Jackson with the present of a costly horse, and a few 
hundreds of the young men enlisted in the patriot army. But the 
opinions of the people in the upper regions of the State were 
divided, and the major part merely acquiesced in the occupation 
of the country, with a truckling caution. General Jackson 
employed the most stringent measures against ^ straggling, and 
every outrage ; and established in the town a police so strict, that 
its citizens Avcro almost unconscious of the inconveniences of hos- 
tile occupation. Two appearances were now manifest in strong 
contrast, which have not failed to re-appear at every return of 
the Confederate army to the northern soil ; on their part a gen- 
erous forbearance and respect for private rights, almost incredible 
in men who had left their own homes desolated by outrages so 
diabolical ; and on the part of the so called Union population, 
a disgusting brutality, which declared itself incompetent even to 
comprehend their magnanimity, by imputing it uniformly to 
fear. 

All direct communication between Washington and Harper's 
Ferry was now severed. The first effect which General Lee 
hoped from his movement was immediately gained. M'Clellan, 
who was placed by the verbal request of Lincoln, in supreme 
command, began at once to withdraw his troops to the north 
bank of the Potomac ; and the Confederate rear was delivered 
from all serious annoyance, save the insults of flying parties of 
cavalry. The other consequence, the evacuation of Harper's 
Ferry and Martinsburg, would also have followed, if the sound 
discretion of M'Clellan had prevailed. No sooner had ho fully 
discovered General Lee's drift, than he requested of Ilalleck 
that the troops there and at Uarpcr's Ferry, useless and in 



GENERAL HALLECK ALARMED. 547 

peril "wliere they were, should be withdrawn and brought into 
connexion with him. His advice was disregarded, and the speedy 
capture of both those detachments evinced at once the soundness 
of his counsel and the soundness of General Lee's expectation, 
'tliat his advance on Frederick ought naturally to result in tlie 
peaceable occupation of Harper's Ferry by the Confederates. 
The blunder of the Federalists in remaining there, did, indeed, 
exert an unforeseen and indirect influence in favor of their 
army, as will appear in jthe sequel ; but, as it was one which 
was not designed . by either Halleck or M'Clellan, it docs 
not acquit the former of these Generals from the charge of an 
error of judgment. This commander was now seized with a 
panic for the safety of Washington, which obfuscated his own 
senses, and obstructed, for a time, every eJSbrt of M'Clellan to 
act with vigor against the invaders. He was haunted with the 
fear that the march into Maryland was a feint, — that only a 
small detachment was there, while the bulk of their army was 
somehow hidden away in some limhus in the woods of Fairfax, 
whence the terrible Jackson would suddenly emerge, seize the 
lines of Arlington while denuded of their defenders, and thunder 
with his cannon upon the White House. Again, he imagined that 
he would suddenly recross the Potomac somewhere in the moun- 
tains, march down its southern bank, pass it a third time below 
M^Clellan's army, and, approaching Washington by its north side, 
capture the place, with the precious persons of the President 
and his minions, before the latter General could turn about. A 
few days after, when he heard that Jackson was indeed passing 
to the south side of the Potomac at Williamsport, a hmidred 
miles away, he was sure that the catastrophe was at hand. 
Hence, he detained M'Clellan in his march j he entreated liim 
not to proceed far from the Capital ; he warned him to look well 
to his endangered left. These fancies of the Gcneralissiino are 



548 LIFE OF LIEUr.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

of interest only as showing the conviction of Jackson's enemies, 
that there "was nothing which was not within reach of his rapid 
audacity, and as evincing how happily his prowess confounded 
their counsels. 

These uncertain and dilatory movements of the enemy gave * 
General Jackson a respite from the 6th to the 10th of September, 
at Frederick, which he improved in resting and refitting his/ 
command. The day after his arrival was the Sabbath. Such 
was the order and discipline of the invading army, that all the 
churches were opened, and the people attended their worship, 
with their wives and children, as in profound peace. Jackson 
himself appeared in the German Reformed Church, as a devout 
worshipper. He expressed to his wife his lively delight in par- 
ticipating in the divine service again, after so many weeks of 
privation, with a regular Cluistian assembly, and in a commo- 
dious temple, consecrated to God. 

Meantime his cavaby, under the gallant Colonel Munford, 
with some supporting force, observed the approaches of the ene- 
my on the side of Washington. This officer, who had just dis- 
tinguished himself on the plains of Manassa's in the most brilliant 
cavalry charge of the war, skirmished . daily with the enemy's 
advance ; and, as their masses began to press more heavily upon 
him, fell back toward Frederick. The whole Confederate army 
had arrived there, and was encamped near the town. General 
Lee now assembled his leading Generals in council, to devise a 
plan of operations for the approaching shock of arms. Harper's 
Ferry had not been evacuated, as he hoped. His first design, of 
withdrawing his army in a body toward "Western IMaryland, for 
the purpose of threatening Pennsylvania, and fighting M'Clcllan 
upon gi-ound of Ids own selection, was now beset with this diffi- 
culty : that its execution would leave the garrison at Harper's 
Ferry to re-open their communications with their friends, to 



GENERAL LEE'S PLAN OP MARCH. 549 

receive an accession of strength, and to sit upon his flank, 
threatening his new line of supply up the valley of Virginia. 
Two other plans remained : the one was to leave Harper's Ferry 
to itself for the present, to concentrate the whole army in a good 
position, and fight M'Clellan as he advanced. The other was to 
withdraw the army west of the mountains, as at first designed, 
but by different routes, embracing the reduction of Harper's 
Ferry by a rapid com.bination in this movement ; and then to 
re-assemble the whole at some favorable position in that region, 
for the- decisive struggle with M'Clellan. The former was advo- 
cated by Jackson ; he feared lest the other system of movements 
should prove too complex for realizing that punctual and com- 
plete concentration which sound policy required. The latter, 
being preferred by the Commander-in-Chief was adopted. - It 
would be unjust to point to its partial results as proof of supe- 
rior sagacity in Jackson, for the impartial reader would remem- 
ber that the plan of his preference was never tried ; and, if it 
had been, the test of experiment might have shown that it also 
was only capable of imperfect success. It should be added that 
the execution of the plan which was actually adopted was 
marred, in some measure, by the untimely disclosure of it to the 
enemy. Either project was bold, and its execution would have 
been delicate and hazardous. The purposes of (rcneral Lee 
cannot be so clearly set forth in any way as by the order which 
unfolded them to his Lieutenants, issued at Frederick, Septem- 
ber 9th: — 

^•' The army wiH resume its march tq,morrow, taking the 
Hagerstown road. General Jackson's command will form the 
advance, and, after passing Middletown with such portion as he 
may select, will take the route toward Sharpsburg, cross the 
Potomac at the most convenient point, and by Friday night take 
possession of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, capture such of 



550 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

the enemy as may be at Martinsburg, and intercept such as may 
attempt to escape from Harper's Ferry. 

" General Longstreet's command "will pursue the same road as 
far as Boonesborough, where it "will halt with the reserve, supply, 
and baggage trains of the army. 

" General M'Laws, with his own division, and that of General 
R. II. Anderson, will follow General Longstreet ; on reaching 
Middletown he will take tlie route to Harper's Ferry, and by 
Friday morning possess himself of the Maryland Heights, and 
endeavor to capture the enemy at Harper's Ferry and its 
vicinity. 

" General Walker, with his division, after accomplishing the 
object in which he is now engaged, will cross the Potomac at 
Check's Ford, ascend its right bank to Lovettsville, take posses- 
sion of Loudoun Heights, if practicable, by Friday morning; 
Key's Ford on his left, and the road between the end of the 
mountain and the Potomac on his right. He will, as far as 
practicable, co-operate with General M'Laws and General Jack- 
son in intercepting the retreat of the enemy. 

" General D. H. Hill's division will form the rear-guard of the 
army, pursuing the road taken by the main body. The reserve 
artillery, ordnance, and supply-trains, &c., will precede General 
Hill. 

" General Stuart will detach a squadron of cavalry to accom- 
pany the commands of Generals Longstreet, Jackson, and 
M'Laws ; and with the main body of the cavalry will cover the 
route of the army, and bring up aill stragglers that may have 
been left behind. 

" The commands of Generals Jackson, M'Laws, and Walker, 
after accomplishuig the objects for which they have been de- 
tached, will join the main body of the army at Boonsboroiigh 
or Ha^erstown." 



OEDER OP MARCH. 551 

It will be seen tliat the advance "was again committed to Gen- 
eral Jackson, togetlier with the task of making the longer circuit, 
and reducing Harper's Ferry. On the morning of Wednesday, 
September 10th, he set out, and marched across the mountains to 
Boonsborough. The next day, leaving Hagerstown on his right, 
General Jackson marched to Williamsport ; and crossing the 
Potomac at that place, re-entered Virginia a full day's march 
west of Harper's Ferry. Then, dividing his forces, he sent Gen- 
eral A. P. Hill on the direct road to Martinsburg ; while he, with 
the other two divisions, moved to the North Mountain Depot, the 
nearest station west of that town. The object of these move- 
ments was to prevent the garrison of Martinsburg from escaping 
by the west or north. Their commander, Brigadier-General 
White, finding no other outlet, deserted the place on the 
approach of the Confederates, and retired to Harper's Ferry. 
They entered Martinsburg on the morning of the 12th of Sep- 
tember, and found many .valuable stores abandoned by the 
enemy. By the patriotic part of the population of this oppressed 
town General Jackson was received with an uncontrollable out- 
burst of enthusiasm. He was now in liis own military district 
agam, — his beloved Valley ; and he appeared among the aston- 
ished and delighted people almost as a visitor from the skies. 
The females, especially, to whom his pm-ity and domestic virtues 
made him as dear as his lofty chivalry, crowded around him with 
their affectionate greetings ; while the foremost besieged him for 
some little souvenir. Blushing with embarrassment, he said : 
" Eeally, ladies, this is thg first time I was ever surroimded by 
the enemy J " and disengaged himself from them. Allotting 
scanty time to the indulgence of this popular emotion, he pressed 
forward the same day toward Harper's Ferry, and approached 
it from the west at eleven o'clock on the mornmg of the 13th. 
His two partners in the enterprise, Generals M'Laws and 



552 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

Walker, had not yet arrived ; and it is striking evidence of his 
celerity, that while they had but the distance of a day's march to 
traverse, he completed a circuit of more than sixty miles, and 
arrived first. Placing his signal officer upon a conspicuous 
emiucuce, he began immediately to question the neighboring 
heights of Loudoun and Maryland, but received no response. 
He then sent by couriers; and, during the night of the 13th, 
received answer that General M'Laws had succeeded in seizing 
the Maryland Heights, after a spirited and successful combat, 
about four and a half o'clock, P. M., while General "Walker had 
the same evening occupied the Loudoun Heights with two- regi- 
ments, without opposition. 

The village of Harper's Ferry has already been described, as 
occupying the angle between the Potomac and Shenandoah, 
where these two rivers unite, immediately before their passage 
thi-ough the gorge of the Blue Ridge. The town ascends, in a 
rambling fashion, a ridge which fills the space between the two 
rivers, and wliich is itself almost a mountain. This range of 
highlands, known as Bolivar Heights, upon its reverse, presents 
a regular acclivity, looking toward the southwest over the open 
country of the valley, which extends from the Shenandoah to the 
Potomac. The former stream separates them from the Loudoun 
Heights, and across the latter, they are confronted by the Mary- 
land Heights. Along the crest of Bolivar Heights the Federal- 
ists had constructed a defensive line of earthworks, with heavy 
ahattis, and many batteries of artillery. On the morning of 
September 14th, General Jackson placed himself in communica- 
tion with his associates, and taking the chief direction as senior 
officer, proceeded to dispose everything for the capture of the 
place, with its entire garrison. Brigadier-General Walker car- 
ried four rifled cannon to the crest of Loudoun Heights, supported 
by a portion of his infantry ; while with the remainder he guarded 



ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CAPTURE OP HARPERS FERRY. OOd 

the roads by which the- enemy might seek to escape eastward. 
Major-General M'Laws established himself in Pleasant Yallej; a 
mountain vale embraced between the main crest of the Blue Ridge, 
and a subsidiary range parallel to it on the west, known as Elk 
Eidge. It is the southern promontory of this, which, immediately 
overlooking the river and village, is known as Maryland Heights. 
After seizing this commanding position, as has been related, he 
devoted the night of the 13th and the forenoon of the 14th, to 
constructing a road along the crest of Elk Eidge, by which can- 
non could be carried out upon its southern extremity. By two 
o'clock p. M. four pieces of artillery were established there, 
with great labor, overlooking the whole town, and a part of the 
enemy's works on Bolivar Heights. The remainder of General 
M'Laws' force was employed in watching the outlets from Har- 
per's Ferry down the Potomac, where the main road, the rail- 
road and the canal, passed under the mountain's foot, and to 
guarding his rear against the approach of the heavy force of 
M'Clellan; who sought to raise the siege by pressing him from 
the north. But while the guns of M'Laws and Walker upon 
the mountains now rendered the town untenable to the Federal- 
ists, they could not dislodge them from their main line upon 
Bolivar Heights ; and here, it was plain, they would cling, in the 
hope of being relieved by M'Clellan, until the place was actually 
forced. So that the main struggle, after all, fell to the corjjs of 
General Jackson. He directed the division of Hill toward the 
Shenandoah, and that of Taliaferro, under Brigadier- General J. 
R. Jones, to the banks of the Potomac. The division of Ewell, 
under Brigadier-General Lawton, marched upon the Charlestown 
turnpike, and supported Hill. On the 14th General Jackson, 
observing an eminence upon the extreme right of the enemy's 
line, and next the Potomac, occupied only by horsemen, du'ected 
the Stonewall Brigade, under Colonel Grigsby, to seize it. This 

70 



554 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

was done "wltliout much difficulty; and the bill was at once 
crowned by the batteries of Poaguc and Carpenter. On his 
right, a similar operation, of still greater 'importance, was hap- 
pily effected by General A. P. Hill. Perceiving an elevated 
piece of ground, (whence the Federal position along Bolivar 
Heights could be enfiladed at the distance of only a thousand 
yards,) which seemed to be defended by infantry behind a 
heavy ahattis without artillery, Hill sent three brigades under 
General Pender, to storm it. This was effected in most gallant 
style, and with slight loss. During the night Major Walker, 
director of his artillery, by indefatigable exertions, carried sev- 
eral batteries to the position thus won ,• while the remainder of 
the infantry of the division, availing themselves of the darkness, 
and the precipitous ravines which descend to the Shenandoah, 
insinuated themselves down its left bank, and took post in rear 
of the enemy's left. By these dispositions, the fate of the garri- 
son was sealed. But General Jackson, to make sure of his 
work, also directed his chief of artillery. Colonel Crutchfield, to 
pass eleven pieces of artillery from Ewcll's division across the 
Shenandoah, and establish- them upon its right bank, so as to 
take a part of the Federal line in reverse. To the division of 
Ewell was assigned the front attack, in the centre. 

This arrangement of the Confederate forces has been de- 
scribed in its completeness, because there is no more beautiful 
instance in the whole history of the military art, of a grand 
combination absolutely complete and punctual, irrevocably de- 
ciding the struggle before it was begun, and yielding a perfect 
result, which left nothing more to be desired. In the afternoon 
of the 14th, the guns of M-Laws and Walker, upon the two 
mountains, had given the enemy a foretaste of their overthrow, 
by silencing their batteries nearer the Potomac, and searching 
the whole encampment and barracks with their shells at will. 



THE PLACE SUEEENDERS. 555 

But Jackson was noTV ready also; and at dawn on the 15th he 
proceeded to give to his adversary the coup de grace. He 
ordered all the different batteries to open at once. M'Laws and 
Walker plunged their shot among the Federal masses from the 
heights; Poague and Carpenter scourged their right vdth a 
resistless fire ; Lawton advanced to the attack with artillery and 
iijfantry in front ; and the enfilading batteries of General Hill 
and Colonel Crutchfield swept their men from the ramparts by a 
storm of projectiles. After an hour of furious cannonading, all 
the Federal batteries were silenced. General Jackson had di- 
rected that at this signal, Hill should instantly advance, and 
storm the place upon the right. His brigades were just moving, 
the gallant Pender again in front, supported by two advanced 
batteries, when amidst the surges of smoke, a white flag was seen 
Avaving from a prominent height within the town. Hill arrested 
the tempest of battle at once ; and sending an officer to ascertain 
tl i'. purpose of the enemy to surrender, soon after entered the 
town, and received the submission of its commander. The sen- 
ior officer present. Colonel Miles, had just fallen by a mortal 
wound ; Brigadier- General White, the next in command, surren- 
dered at discretion, with a garrison of eleven thousand men, 
seventy-three pieces of artillery, thirteen thousand stand of small 
arms, a great number of wagons and horses, and a vast accumu- 
lation of stores of every description. When General Hill 
entered the place, all was confusion and panic, and the defenders 
had already lost every appearance of subordination. 

General Jackson granted most liberal terms to the prisoners, 
although they had placed themselves at his will. The officers 
were dismissed with their side-arms and personal effects, upon 
their parole ; and wagons, with horses, lent them to remove their 
baggage to the Federal lines. The privates also, were disarmed, 
and released upon parole. The force of General Lee was too 



55 G LIFE OP I.IEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON'. 

small to permit, at this critical hour, the detachment of men to 
conduct them into the interior. This magoificent capture con- 
firmed the judgment of General Joseph E. Johnston, who decided 
in ISGl that Harper's Ferry was an mitenable position for a 
garrison menaced by a large army. The only resource for the 
Federal commander, when he saw his enemies approaching, was 
a retreat to the Mar3dand Heights. These commanded the 
Loudoun Heights, as they, in turn, commanded the village. He 
should have retreated thither at the beginning with his light 
artillery, destroyed his stores, and broken up the bridges be- 
tween himself and Harper's Ferry. That place would have 
then been as untenable to Jackson as it had been to liim, and he 
would have speedily restored communication between himself 
and M'Clellan, who was approaching from the north. 

The surrender of Harper's Ferry was received at 9 o'clock 
A.M., the 15th of September. General Jackson, assigning to Hill 
the receiving of the captured persons and property, immediately 
resumed his march to rejoin General Lee at Sharpsburg with 
his two remaining divisions. By a toilsome night march, he 
reached that place on the morning of Tuesday, September IGth. 
He also ordered M'Laws and Walker to descend, pass through 
Harper's Ferry, and follow him. The Commander-in-Chief was 
now demanding their presence with urgency. To understand its 
cause, other lines of events must be resumed. 

On the 12th of September, the advance of M'Clellan's grand 
army having discovered that all the Confederates had left Fred- 
erick, ventured to enter the place. The next day, a copy of 
General Lee's order, directing the movements of his whole army, 
which had been unfortunately dropped in the town, was discov- 
ered and sent to the Federal General. Satisfied at once of its 
authenticity, he perceived that he now had the clew for which he 
had been groping so cautiously, and determined to disregard the 



m'clellan's movements. 557 

groundless fears of the despotism at Wasliingtoiij and to i^ross 
the Confederates, henceforward, with vigor. He saw correctly 
that celerity of movement might now make him master- of the 
situation, and adopted a plan of operations dictated by the 
highest skill. This was to push his great army westward as 
rapidly as possible by several parallel routes so near together 
as to render a concentration on either rapid and easy ; to feel 
all the passes across the m.ountain which were held by Lee, and 
as soon as he effected an entrance at any, to collect his whole 
force beyond that barrier between the Confederates near Har- 
per's Perry and the other wing, supposed to be tendmg toward 
Ilagerstown ; to crush the former first, delivering the beleaguered 
garrison, and then tm*n upon the latter. That all this was not 
effected, was due to the surprising promptitude with which 
Jackson reduced Harper's Ferry, and to the heroic tenacity of 
M'Laws and D. H. Hill in holding the Pleasant Valley and Boons- 
borough Gap against him, until the Confederate army could be 
concentrated. On the 14th, the Federal left wing, in great 
force, under General Franklin, forced Crampton's Gap, by which 
M'Laws had approached Harper's Ferry. But when they 
passed the first crest of the mountain, they found M'Laws, with 
a strong rear-guard, drawn up across the Pleasant Valley with 
so bold a front, that they feared both to attack him and to 
expose their flank by proceeding farther west. Here Franklm 
lost a day invaluable to his commander, by pausing to con- 
front M'Laws until the fall of Harper's Ferry on the 15th 
opened to the latter a safe exit, by which ho retired toward the 
appointed rendezvous. On the 14th of September, also, the 
remainder of the Federal army, moving from Frederick by the 
main road toward Boonsbororough hurled its vast masses all day 
against D. H. Hill, in the mountain pass in front of that place. 
This determined soldier held his ground with less than five 



558 LIFE OF LIEDT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

thousand men, when General Longstreet coming to his support 
in the afternoon, sustained the onset until nightfall. They then 
withdrew their divisions toward Sharpsburg, under favor of the 
darkness, and arrived at that position on the 15th, while their 
enemies pursued sluggishly, bravely resisted by the cavalry of 
FitzHugh Lee. In the combat of Boonsborough Gap, M'CleUan, 
with that usual exaggeration of the numbers of his enemy to 
which his timid temperament inclined him, placed the force of 
D. H. Hill at fifteen thousand, and that of Longstreet at as many 
more. A large portion of his army arrived in front of the Con- 
federate position at Sharpsbm-g on the same day with them, 
and he might have immediately attacked with the prospect of . 
overwhelming the tlu'cc divisions opposed to him. But thu 
absence of Franklin with his whole left wing, which was detained 
in Pleasant Valley by M'Laws, the cumbrous size of his vast 
and sluggish host, and his own caution, consumed both that day 
and the IGth. Then, two divisions of the corps of Jackson and 
that of General Walker were in position, and the hope of beat- 
ing the Southern army in detail was at an end. 

The position selected by General Lee for his final concen- 
tration is marked by the little village of Sharpsburg, a cluster 
of German farm-houses, which had spent its quiet existence 
amidst the hills and woods, dreaming little of the fame which 
was to connect its name forever with the greatest battle of this 
gigantic campaign. It is situated at the intersection of six roads, 
two and a half miles east of the Potomac, and one mile west of 
Antietam Creek, a picturesque mill-stream, which descends from 
the north, and separates between the rolling hills of the great 
valley, and the long, sloping ridges which form the western bases 
of the Blue Ridge^ or South Mountain. The roads which centre 
at the village lead southward to Ilarper's Ferry, northward to 
Ilagcrstown, westward to Shephcrdstown, upon the Yii-ginian 



CONFEDERATE POSITIONS AT SHARPSBURG. 



559 




3pale, 3-4 Inch, lo a Mile. 



CONFEDERATE POSITIONS AT SHABPSBUBG. 



5 GO LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

shore of tlic Potomac^ east-ward to Boonsborough, and southeast- 
v.';ird to Pleasant Valley. It was by the last two that IM'Clellan's 
army approached ; and these highways passed the Antietam upon 
siiijstantial bridges of stone; while other practicable crossings, 
a;)Ove and below, were offered by fords and country roads of 
less note. The country around Sharpsbui-g is elevated and 
rolling, with woods, fields, farm-houses, and orchards interspersed, 
divided by stone fences, and scarred here and there with ledges 
of limestone which project a few feet from the soil. It offered, 
therefore, a strong defensive position for an army receiving the 
attack of its enemies; but the ground lay imder two grave 
objections, of which the one was, that this army had the Potomac 
in its immediate rear, and the other, that its lines were almost 
enfiladed by the heavy rifled artillery of the assailants, posted 
upon the ascending ridges which rose from the eastern margin 
of the Antietam toward the mountain. Here, however, General 
Lee began the formation of his line of battle, on the 15th of 
September, by placmg the divisions of D. H. Hill, Longstreet 
and Hood upon the range of hills in front of Sharpsburg, and 
overlooking Antietam Creek. His line was nearly parallel to 
this stream, and had Longstreet upon the right and Hill upon 
the left of the road which led to Boonsborough : while Hood's tAVO 
brigades, stationed upon the left of Hill, extended that wing to 
the highway leading to Ilagerstown. The evening of that day 
was expended by tlic Federalists in feeble rcconnoissanccs. But 
on the morning of the IGth they were evidently busy in posting 
their batteries, and disposing then- vast masses for a pitched 
buttle. At mid-day General Jackson arrived, with the two 
divisions under the command of Brigadier-Generals Jones and 
Lawton, and, after granting his men a few hours' repose, took 
position on the left of Hood, nearly filling the space between the 
llacrerstown road and the Potomac. To rest his extreme left in 



PLAN OF M'CLELLAN'S BATTLE. 561 

the neigliborhoocl of the river, he was compelled to retract it 
somewhat from the direct line. This exposed him to two iacon- 
veniences, — that his position was thereby moi-e completely enfi- 
laded by hostile batteries in front of his right, and that space was 
thus left between him and the Antietam for the collecting of a 
heavy force of the Federalists before his left, and on the hither 
side of that barrier. But no other choice was left him ; the vast 
numbers of M'Clellan would otherwise have enabled that General 
to swing around between his extreme left and tlie river. Gen- 
eral Walker, arriving with his two brigades a little after Jackson, 
was posted on the right of Longstreet. After spending the day 
in a' heavy but useless cannonade, M'Clellan advanced to the 
assault about sunset on the IGth and attacked the two brigades 
of Hood, on the left of the centre, in great numbers. These 
veteran commands received the onset with firmness, and uiflicted*" 
serious loss upon the assailants. The combat continued far into 
the night, and was suspended without result ; when Hood's troops 
were relieved by the brigades of Trimble and Lawton, from the 
division of Ewell (now commanded by Lawton), that they might 
have a much needed respite during the night, to prepare food 
and replenish their ammunition. The two divisions of Jackson 
now occupied the whole left, from that of D. H. Hill forth, and 
the command of Hood became the reserve. Thus the troops 
lay down upon their arms, with the skirmishers immediately 
confronting the lines of the enemy, and sought such repose as 
they might, amidst the alarms of a continual dropping fire. 

The morning of the 17th of September dawned with all tlie 
mellow splendor of the American autumn ; but scarcely had the 
sun arisen, when its quiet and beauty were obscured by the 
thunders and smoke of a terrific cannonade, which burst from 
the whole Federal line. The plan of M'Clellan's battle was, to 
advance his right first, under the lead of Generals Hooker and 
71 



5G2 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

Mansfield, who had ah'cadj made a lodgement west ol the An- 
tietam, to overpower the Confederate left, and then to sweep 
down the stream, taking the remainder of General Lee's line in 
reverse, and forcing it simultaneously by a front attack. To 
effect the first part of this design, he hurled against the left the 
corps of Hooker, Mansfield, and Sumner, containing, by his own 
statement, forty-four thousand combatants, and supported by five 
or six batteries of rifled artillery from his reserves, besides the 
numerous guns attached directly to their movements. But 
so far was this force from proving adequate to his purpose, he 
relates that the corps of Franklin, then numbering twelve thou- 
sand men, was necessai-ily brought up as a reserve, and a part 
of it engaged, to prevent the Confederates from retorting his 
assault upon their left by a serious disaster. Thus, the post of 
danger and of glory again fell to the devoted corps of Jackson. 
The divisions present were now diminished by battle, straggling, 
and overpowering fatigues, to an aggregate of less than seven 
thousand men. With this little band, supported by five thou- 
sand reserves under Hood and M'Laws, of whom the latter only 
arrived from Harper's Ferry in the crisis of the battle, did 
Jackson hold his ground throughout the day, and breast every 
onset of the deluge of enemies. His dispositions have already 
been described in part. The brigades of Lawton and Trimble 
were between the Hagcrstown road and the command of D. H. 
Hill. On the left of these, and parallel to that road, was the 
division of Jones. The brigades of Early and Hayes were at 
first detached to support the horse artillery of General Stuart, 
who, with a portion of his cavalry, had seized an elevated hill 
distant nearly a mile from the infantry, whence he proposed to 
threaten the extreme right of the Federalists. Hays was imme- 
diately recalled from this movement to the. support of Lawton's 
brigade, leaving Early to guard tlie batteries of Stuart. This 



Jackson's stubborn resistance. 563 

General, finding that the wide interval between him and General 
Jackson's left allowed the intrusion of the enemy, almost imme- 
diately removed his guns to a height somewhat farther to the 
rear, and nearer to his friends. From this position he rendered 
essential service, not only in guarding their flank, but in repuls- 
ing the onsets of the Federalists, by a spirited cannonade. But 
the advance of their infantry had begun simultaneously with the 
furious fire of their batteries, and, by sunrise, the skirmishers 
were hotly engaged in the woods east of the Hagerstown road. 
Very soon the Confederates were driven out, and the position 
was- occupied by large masses of Federal infantry, with several 
batteries of artillery, which assailed the Confederate line in 
front, while the rifled guns in the distance raked them with a 
murderous fire from their right. But under this double ordeal, 
the veterans of Jackson stood firm, and returned the fii-e, inflict- 
ing a terrible slaughter upon their enemies. For more than an 
hour this unequal contest raged with unabated fury. The 
brigade of Hayes was speedily called from the second line into 
the first. General Lawton, commanding the division, was se- 
verely wounded. Colonel Douglass, leading his brigade, was 
killed. Colonel Walker, commanding Trimble's brigade, was 
wounded and unhorsed. General J. R. Jones, commanding the 
old division of Jackson, was compelled to leave the field, and the 
gallant General Starke, succeedmg him, was immediately slain. 
Trimble's brigade had one-third, and the others half their men 
Jiors du combat ; and four out of five of their field officers were 
killed or wounded. The whole line was speedily reduced to a 
shattered remnant, which still fought with invincible tenacity, 
from hillock to hillock, and ledge to ledge, as they retired. It 
was in this terrific crisis that General Jackson commanded Hood 
to return to the front and relieve the division of Lawton, and 
recalled Early with his brigade, to assume the command vacated 



5G4 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

by the wounding of the latter. "With his accustomed proTTCSS 
the heroic Texan ruslied forward against the teeming multitudes 
of the enemy, and stayed the tide of battle. His two little 
brigades engaged five times their own numbers ; and in a deadly 
grapple, of several hours' duration, drove them steadily back a 
quarter of a mile, and re-established the Confederate lines. 
After firing away all his cartridges, he caused his men to re- 
plenish their supply from the slain of both armies, and still main- 
tained the struggle, until the Federalists, about mid-day, remitted 
their exertions. 

But General Early brought other succors to the failing line at 
the same time with Hood. Marching his brigade by its right flank 
over sheltered ground in the rear of the Confederate lines, he 
brought it, at the moment when the division of Starke was 
almost overpowered, to their assistance. They had been driven 
from the Ilagerstown road, across an elevated field, and into a 
wood beyond, where the dauntless Colonels Grigsby and Staf- 
ford were endeavoring to rally a few score of their brigades. 
The Federalists had ah-eady posted a battery in the road ; and, 
thinking the left successfully turned, were advancing heavy 
columns of infantry against both the right and the left of the 
ground which Early had just assumed. Informing General Jack- 
son of his critical position, he assigned to Colonel Grigsby the 
task of holding the left column in check for a few moments, and 
moved his own brigade farther to the right, so as to confront the 
other, concealed from them by the undulations of the ground. 
Having gained the desired position, he suddenly disclosed his 
line, advanced, and attacked them with fury. . They gave way 
before him, and he pursued them with great slaughter to the road. 
At this opportune moment the brigades of General !M'Laws began 
to arrive to liis support, — Kershaw and Barksdale upon his right, 
and Semmcs upon his left. The Federal column, tlu-eatening 



M'LAWS ARRIVES — ENEMY REPULSED. 565 

that part of Ms line had just come far enough to endanger 
his left flank and rear, as he advanced against the routed enemy 
in his front. Early therefore arrested his men in the ardor of 
their pursuit, changed his front, and advanced upon this second 
body of enemies, in conjunction with Semmes, Grigsb}^, and Staf- 
ford. By this combined attack they were swept summarily, with 
great loss, from the woods, and the lines were imally restored. 
At the same time, the other brigades of ]\I'Laws were advanced 
on Early's right with admirable skill and spirit, by their com- 
mander ; a.nd drove the enemy across the woods and fields for 
half a mile, strewing the ground with killed and wounded. The 
whole of General Jackson's line was then re-established by the 
united troops of Hood, M'Laws, and Early ; and the conflict of 
the infantry sunk into a desultory skirmish of outposts. But the 
baflQed Federalists kept up, during the remainder of the day, a 
furious cannonade upon his position, under which his men lay 
quiet behind the hillocks, rocky ledges, and fences, suffering but 
little loss. The share of his wearied troops in the glories of the 
day was now completed. In the afternoon, indeed, instructed by 
the Commander-in-Chief, he made an attempt to effect a diver- 
sion in favor of his comrades upon the right and centre, by 
attacking the extreme right of the Federalists in conjunction 
with General Stuart. But their lines were found to extend so 
near the Potomac, and to be so fortified with artillery, that the 
experiment was relinquished. During this terrible conflict Gen- 
eral Jackson exposed his life with his customary imperturbable 
bravery, riding among his batteries and directing their fire, and 
communicating his own indomitable spirit to his men. Yet he 
said to a Christian comrade, that on no day of battle had he ever 
felt so calm an assurance that he should be preserved from all 
personal harm, through the protection of his Heavenly Father. 
While M'CIellan was accumulating his chief strength aa;ainst 



5GG LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

tho Confederate left, lie was also diligently preparing for an 
attack in force upon the centre, by feeling its lines with a heavy 
artillery fire. No sooner had the tempest exhausted its fury 
upon Jackson, than it burst upon D. II. Ilill and Longstreet, with 
almost equal violence ; but it was met with the same determined 
resistance. To describe its course would lead the reader over 
a precisely parallel story of fourfold numbers, resisted by tlie 
thin Confederate lines, with a sublime heroism which supplied 
every defect of force ; of the lamentable martyrdom of devoted 
officers and men, but avenged by bloody slaughters of the assail- 
ants ; of shattered brigades reduced to handfuls, and of fearful 
onslaughts, turned back by the rally of these unconquerable men, 
when the effort seemed almost madness. At one moment, he 
would sec vast masses of the enemy pouring through a breach in 
the single line of Hill, and about to seize the very key of the Con- 
federate position, arrested and turned back by that General with 
four field-pieces, and a few hundreds of bayonets, rallied from 
several broken brigades. At another, he would see Longstreet, 
sitting alone upon his horse, near a battery of four field-pieces, 
wliicli was supported by the North Carolina regiment of Cooke, 
without a single cartridge, and thus confronting and beating back 
a whole line of battle. 

At four o'clock in the afternoon, M'Clellan transferred his 
attack to the Confederate right, and attempted with the coqis of 
Burnside, to force the bridge over the Antietam, leading from 
the Pleasant Yallcy. This was immediately defended by several 
l.iatteries, and two regiments of General Toombs's Georgia bri- 
gade, stationed near the stream. These troops held the enemy's 
advance in check until they had passed the stream in great num- 
bers below ; when they were necessarily withdrawn, to avoid 
capture. Burnside now crossed the bridge in great force, and 
attacked Longstrect's right, under General D. R. Jones, forcing 



A. P. HILL REPULSES THE FEDERAL LEFT. 567 

liim from the range of hills "whicli commancled the approaches. 
An advance of a few hundred yards more would have given the 
enemy control of the roads leading from Sharpsburg to the 
Potomac ; but . here also through the providence of the Com- 
mander-in-Chief, timely succor was at hand. The remaining 
division of General Jackson's corps, under General A. P. Hill; 
having been ordered up from Harper's Ferry, had just reached 
the field, and was now sent to the support of the right wing. 
This General, advancing four of his brigades, with his batteries, 
attacked the Federalists, flushed with confidence, but disordered 
by the rapidity of their advance, and immediately arrested their 
career. Assailed in flank by Toombs, and in front by Branch, 
Gregg and Ai'cher, they wavered, broke, and fled in confusion to 
the banks of the Antietam, where they sought protection under 
the fire of the numerous artillery upon the opposite hills. In 
this splendid combat, two thousand men of Hill's division, 
assisted by the brigade of Toombs, routed the fourteen thousand 
of Burnside, and drove them under the shelter of M^Clellan's 
reserves. 

The General was now comDelled to pass from the aggressive 
to the defensive, and was happy to be able to prevent the Con- 
federates from crossing the bridge in turn, forcing back his left, 
and separating him from the mountain base, which he destined 
for his refuge in case of disaster. To the anxious appeals of 
Burnside for more men, and more guns, to meet " the overpow- 
ering odds " against him, he had no reply to give. Contenting 
themselves with posting their beaten infantry, and tlieii' artillery 
so as to contest the passage of Hill, they awaited the night, 
which speedily came to their assistance. With this afiair, the 
bloody day was closed. The two armies held the same positions 
which they occupied when it began, save that in the centre, the 
Confederate line was retracted about two hundred yards. In 



568 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

no battle of the war had the shock of arms been so violent as 
in this, or the cannonade so terrible. On both sides, portions of 
the forces engaged were almost totally disintegi*atcd by the fury 
of the struggle. The whole organized remainder of brigades 
appeared in the form of a few companies, and divisions were 
reduced to the size of regiments. 

The exliaustion of the Confederates forbade the thought of 
following up their successes. But had they been stronger, the 
adroit position of M'Clellan gave them little encouragement to 
attempt it. He was able to place the Antietam in his front, and 
to occupy upon the eastern side, ground of commanding height. 
Had he been forced back from this, he would have retired to 
ranges of hills still more elevated, whence his numerous and 
powerful artillery would have been employed with still more 
fatal effect; and had he been defeated, this would only have 
driven him to the mountain, where he would have been unassail- 
able. But on the morning after the battle. General Lee firmly 
awaited another attack in his first position. His army had been 
recruited already, by the return of thousands of the foot-sore 
and the stragglers to their ranks, and he was nothing loth to try 
conclusions again, upon the same ground, with his gigantic adver- 
sary. M'Clellan had no stomach whatever for another wrestle 
of the sort he had just escaped; and thus, during the 18th, the 
two adversaries stood at bay, and busied themselves in burying 
their dead, and removing their wounded. In the afternoon. 
General Lee, learning that M'Clellan was about to receive large 
accessions of fresh troops, and having no corresponding increase 
of his own strength in prospect, determined to recross the Poto- 
mac at Shepherdstown. As soon as the darlmess set in, this 
movenient was commenced, and was continued all night. The 
trains, the artillery, the wounded, were passed safely over ; while 
the troops forded the shallow stream in a continuous column. 



lee's aim in the battle of sharpsburg. 569 

Motliing was left to the. enemy, except a few hundred wounded men, 
whose suffermgs would have been aggravated by thck removal, 
and a few disabled guns and caissons. The corps of General 
Jackson now brought up the rearj and its passage was not 
completed until 10 o'clock A. M. on the 19th. For hours, he 
was seen seated upon his horse in the middle of the river, as 
motionless as a statue, watching the passage of his faithful men ; 
nor did he leave this station until the last man and the last car- 
riage had touched the southern shore. He then retired with his 
troops-; and having made suitable dispositions for guarding the 
fords, sought encampments for them, where they might find the 
much needed repose. * 

When M'Clellan perceived that the Confederates had retired 
he began to claim the battle of Sharpsbm-g as a glorious victory. 
He forgot that at Malvern Hill he had also claimed a splendid 
victory because he was permitted to do something similar to that 
which General Lee had now done, except that it was less suc- 
cessful. There he had stood on the defensive in the position of 
his choice ; he had beaten off the assailants with a loss equal to 
his own ; he had held his ground, in the main, until the close of 
the battle ; and he had then stolen off in the darkness, leav- 
ing his enemy to bury his dead, and to care for many of his 
wounded. Here General Lee had received the attacks of 
his foe in his chosen position ; had repelled them all with 
enormous slaughter; had slept upon his own ground; had 
sent his wounded to the rear; had buried his dead, save 
where the impetuosity of his victorious men had carried them 
into the enemy's line; had offered battle defiantly on the 
succeeding day ; and, after this, had retii^ed at his leisure, and 
unmolested. K Malvern Hill was a victory for M'Clellan, by 
parity of reasoning, Sharpsburg was more a victory for Lee. 
But the Confederates did not claim it as a decisive victory, 

72 



570 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

for it did not gain them the main object for which it was fought. 
It has been said tliat this object was gained, for it was the whole 
end of the battle to win a safe exit out of Maryland, after the 
brilliant capture of Harper's Ferry. This statement is incorrect. 
The evening of the day on which Harper's Ferry fell, more than 
half of the army was safely out of ^Maryland, the coijjs of Jack- 
son, and the divisions of M'Laws, Anderson, and Walker ; it was 
necessary for them to re-enter Maryland, in order to fight at 
Sharpsburg. Nor is it true that their return was necessary to 
extricate the remaining divisions of Longstreet, D. H. Hill, and 
Jones. These crossed the Antietam to Sharpsburg with impunity, 
in the face of M'ClcUan's huge host, during the forenoon of 
September loth, and the onset upon them did not begin in car- 
nest until the dawn of the 17th. Surely the same skill and 
firmness might have conducted them in safety four miles farther, 
across the Potomac to Shepherdstown. The battle of Sharps- 
burg was fought by the Confederates, not to purchase a secure 
retreat, but to open their way for triumphant invasion ; to re- 
deem their offers of aid to oppressed Maryland ; to conquer a 
peace by defeating their oppressors upon their own soil. This 
truth displays at once the daring and hardihood of General 
Lee's conceptions, and his confidence in the prowess of liis 
army. He believed them capable of evcrytldng, and so was 
not afraid to require of them the greatest things. 

In the daring policy of delivering this battle, General Jackson 
had emphatically concurred with him upon his arrival from Har- 
per's Ferry in advance of his corjjs. "When the Commander-in- 
Chief determined to withdraw across the Potomac again, he also 
approved this movement ; but added that, in view of all the cir- 
cumstances, it was better to have fought the battle in Maryland, 
than to have left it without a struggle. In the larger part of 
this admiral)le army, it may be truly said, his confidence was 



HIS ARMY REDUCED BY STRAGGLING. 571 

justly reposed ; but in this instance, be exacted of them that of 
which human nature was scarcely capable. The marches and 
combats which introduced the great day of Sharpsburg, ex- 
hausted the strength of the men in advance. Many were absent 
because they were unable to march with deficient rations, and ill- 
shod ', and many others, who had faithfully dragged their weary 
limbs to the field, had neither strength of muscle nor animal spirits 
for its duties. This army,, jadedj foot-sore, and half famished, 
was sustained under the toils of the bloody day, only by its lofty 
principle, and its devotion to its leaders. To their adversaries,- 
even, they appeared wan and haggard, albeit they were as terri- 
ble as hungry wolves. Men among them were seen, while 
advancing to the charge through orchards of the German farmers, 
under a hail of death, greedily devouring the apples from the 
trees. 

Here, then, was one explanation of the imperfection of Gen- 
eral Lee's victory. Another, more important, was in the miser- 
able vice of straggling, which the mistaken good nature of officers 
had fostered. For in this army, so heroic as a body, there were 
two elements commingled, — the precious metal and the vile 
dross, — the true, patriot, citizen soldier, animated by, a high 
principle, and the base skulker, who did nothing, save under 
compulsion. The great vice of the Southern armies was on this 
occasion prevalent : that the ignorance of the practical details 
of duty among officers, with the easy bonhotnmie of their charac- 
ter, remitted the bonds of discipline ; so that the base were not 
compelled to act with the true, as one body. The losses of the 
army from straggling had begun upon the Eappahannock. When 
it moved thence against Pope, at Manassa's, the country behind 
it was left infested with thousands of laggards and deserters, 
who preyed upon the substance of the citizens, and wandered 
about, with arms in their hands, defying arrest. At every stage 



572 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

of tliG march this depletion increased, until, at the final struggle, 
there were fewer Confederate soldiers in line of battle, along 
the Antietam, than there were along the course of the Potomac, 
and the roads over which the army had marched. General Lee 
declares that the battle was fought with less than forty thousand 
men. The confusion reigning in many parts of the army make 
an accurate enumeration forever impossible. But the highest 
estimate made by well-informed actors in the scene gave him 
thirty-thi'ec thousand effective men. General M'Clellan declares 
officially, that Lee's line of battle was cxcedingly short. All 
who fought in it testified that it was also exceedingly thin. Li 
contrast with this sober revelation of facts, the confident estimates 
of the Federal General are set in a ridiculous light, when he 
formally announces, to a man, the exact number present in each 
of the Confederate corps, and makes up an aggregate of ninety- 
seven thousand four hundred and forty-five combatants, opposed 
to him on the Antietam. The fact that the Confederates defended 
themselves successfully against the ninety thousand men whom 
he hurled against them, supported by the most numerous and 
complete artillery ever arrayed on a field of battle, is a testimony 
to the heroism of the men and the skill of the officers, almost 
inexpressibly glorious. The commendation of Jackson is best 
written by his adversary, when he says, in his Report, " One 
division of Sumner's, and all of Hooker's corps, on the right, had, 
after fighting most valiantly for several hours, been oterpowered 
hj numbers, driven back in great disorder, and much scattered." 
Those numbers, so overpowering, were, as the reader has seen, 
less than seven thousand jaded men, supported by a few hundreds 
of reserves from JiPLaws. That the Confederates accomplished 
so much with their fragment of an army, is the best apology for the 
daring policy of their commander. Had all his men been in their 
places, and had they fought as the thu'ty-thi-ee thousand fought, 



THE ODDS A..-AINST LEE. 573 

it is no idle vaticination to say, that the battle of Sharpsburg 
"would have been a magnificent and decisive triumph. The 
apprehensions which M'Clellan confessed as possessing his breast 
after its close (September 18th), shall express its probable re- 
sults. "At that moment, Virginia lost, Washington menaced, 
IMarjland invaded, the national cause could afford no risks of 
defeat. One battle lost, and almost all would have been lost. 
Lee's army might then have marched, as it pleased, on Washing- 
ton, Baltimore, Philadelphia, or New York. It could have levied 
its supplies from a fertile and undevastated country, extorted 
tribute from wealthy and populous cities; and nowhere east 
of the Alleghanies was there another organized force able to 
arrest its march." 

But it will be well to pause here, and answer a question which 
has doubless been frequently raised in the reader's mind, by the 
astonishing discrepancies between the confident estimates made 
by M'Clellan of his adversary's numbers and the sober statements 
of the Confederate reports. The doubt has arisen, " Can it be, 
that a General of M'Clellan's acknowledged skill should be so 
incapable of measuring the size of the force acting before him, 
or that an official occupying so high a position among a civilized 
people can be so capable of deliberate lying concerning matters 
of fact ? " The answer is to be found chiefly in the traits of his 
people. Their general vanity and falsehood prompted his offi- 
cers and men, when beaten by th/3 Confederates, to cover their 
own cowardice under wondrous tales of the overpowering num- 
bers before which they gave way. Thus, M'Clellan, who, it was 
well known, was not accustomed to risk his person by too near 
an inspection of the incidents of battle, was perpetually made 
the victim of a system of lies and exaggerations, passed upon 
him by his subordinates, to cloak their own cowardice. It is to 
precisely this source that the most of his military blunders are 



574 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSOX. 

traceable. And this is one among the manifold illustrations oi 
the intrinsic weakness of sin. Virtue is always the stronger in 
the end. 

To rctiu'n. Another cause of imperfect success to tlie Con- 
federate arms, was the too great dispersion of their forces 
before the battle. The fact that so much was effected with Ihe 
l)ortion present on the morning of the 1 7tli, shows how complete 
the victory might have been, had all the divisions been on the 
ground, and suitably refreshed by rest and food. The prize at 
Harper's Ferry, left within General Lee's grasp, not by the fore- 
cast, but by the folly of the enemy, yet proved the occasion of 
their rescue from destruction. The splendid bait was seized ; 
but it caused Jackson to arrive wearied and depleted by forced 
marches, and it detained the divisions of A. P. Hill, M'Laws, and 
Anderson, and then placed them at the scene of combat witli 
exhausted strength, after it had been raging for hours. Had 
those forces been present at the beginning, which arrived during 
the day, a concerted onset would have converted the repulse Of 
IM'Clcllan into a disastrous defeat. 

The cause of the Confederates suffered also from indiscreet 
management of their artillery in some parts of the field. Inferior 
in number and range of guns, in the quantity and quality of 
ammunition, and in the experience of the gunners, it should not 
have attempted to cope with the distant Federal batteries. To 
them it should have made no reply : but, protecting itself from 
their fire until the auspicious moment, it should have confined 
itself to driving back their masses of infantry, when they ven- 
tured to expose themselves at close quarters. 

The prime error of M'Clellan in this campaign was his mis- 
take concerning the numbers of his opponent ; for out of tliis his 
other errors grew. Of these, not the least was his timid delay 
in pressing General Lee at Sharpsburg, axid ^M'Laws at Pleasant 



RESPECTIVE LOSSES. 575 

Yalley, on the IStli and IGtli. He had then attained that oppor- 
tunity to deal with the parts of the invading army separated, for 
which he represented himself as manoeuvring : a great captain 
would have used the precious advantage while it lasted, by hurl- 
ing his troops at once, with such imperfect preparation as they 
might have, against their foes. His handling of his forces on the 
17th was also faulty in two important particulars. His attacks 
upon the Confederate left, centre, and right, were successive, 
instead of simultaneous. The one movement was decided 
adversely before the next was seriously begim, and the wings 
of his army consequently gave each other little mutual support. 
And second : it was an inexcusable error to permit the day to 
be decided against him, with fifteen tiiousand reserves of veteran 
troops lying passive behind the Antictam. For all useful pur- 
poses, the corjjs of Fitz-John Porter might as well have been in 
Washington City. It may be right for the General who is very 
distant from his supplies and reinforcements, to husband his 
reserves, even at the cost of surrendering a victory ; but M'Clel- 
lan was very near to his, having two or three fresh divisions 
within a few hours' march. It appears, therefore, that the faults 
of his tactics here were again those of over-caution. His best 
apology is to be found in the indomitable quality of the troops 
opposed to him. 

It remains to speak of the losses of the two parties to this- 
sanguinary battle. General Jackson reported a total loss in his 
command, during the operations at Harper's Ferry and Sharps- 
burg, of three hundred and fifty-one officers and men killed, two 
thousand and thirty wounded, and fifty-seven missing. Nearly 
all of this loss was incurred at the latter place. The loss of the 
whole Confederate army, while in Maryland, was ten thousand 
three hundred, kiUed and wounded, of whom one thousand five 
hundred and sixty-seven were killed. The confusions of the 



576 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

campaign left no means to discriminate between those lost at 
Boonsborougli and Crampton's Gaps, at Harper's Ferry, and in 
the final struggle. General M-'CIellan asserts that the losses of 
the Confederates in killed and wounded, at the two places first 
named, were as great as two thousand five hundred. If this is 
true, then the casualties of the Confederates at Sharpshurg were 
under eight thousand. He sets down the aggregate of his own 
losses during the Maryland campaigTi at about fifteen thousand 
two huudi'ed men, of whom two thousand were killed and 
wounded in the preliminary skirmishes and combats. He thus 
leaves thirteen thousand as his loss in the battle of Sharpsburg. 
His own blunders, in the indiscreet attempts he so often made 
to estimate the casualties of his adversary, are a lesson of cau- 
tion against a too dogmatic attempt to correct this statement. 
It will therefore be left, with the accompanying fact, that the 
hospital returns of the medical authorities of his Government 
showed an increase of thirty thousand patients, from his com- 
mand, as consequent upon the operations of this short campaign. 
The close of this series of events was marked by one more 
combat, which shed a parting beam of glorj' upon the military 
genius orf General Jackson, and the bravery of a part of his 
troops. After crossing the Potomac upon the 19 th of September, 
he withdrew his corps four miles, upon the road toward j\Iartins- 
• burg, and caused them to encamp. Brigadier-General Pendleton, 
the chief of the reserved artillery of General Lee's army, was 
stationed with thii^ty guns upon the heights overlooking the 
river, supported by the shattered remnant of Lawton's brigade, 
to guard it against the passage of the encm}' in pursuit. These 
arrangements had not long been made, when the Federalists- 
began to establish heavy batteries of artillery upon tlie opposite 
heights, to protect the advance of their troops to the attack ; and 
Fitz-John Porter's corps, which had been held in reserve at 



COMBAT OF BOTELER'S FORD. 577 

Sliarpsburg, appeared on the river-bank. TMs General, after 
nightfall, sent a detachment across a point above the batteries of 
Pendleton : -which, advancing unobserved, came so near the base 
of the heights upon which he was posted, as to be protected from 
an effectual cannonade ; while the infantry, discouraged by their 
previous losses, and the absence of their accustomed commander, 
were seized with panic, and fled. The thirty guns of Pendleton 
were now exposed to capture, and four of them fell at once into 
the hands of the Federalists; while the captains of the other 
batteries withdrew the remainder, to rescue them from a similar 
fate. - At midnight General Pendleton came to the camps of the 
army, to report these alarming facts ; and added to them, what 
he then supposed to. bo true, that all his guns had met the fate 
of the four first taken. 

" Lee had already made provision against a pursuit of M^Clel- 
lan, although deeming him probably too much crippled at 
Sharpsburg to venture immediately into Virginia, by entrusting 
the defence of his rear to General Jackson, and by sending 
General Stuart with his cavalry back across the river at Wil- 
liamsport, to threaten the enemy's right flank and harass his 
movements. But now, concluding from the report "of General 
Pendleton, that the Federal army might be attempting to follow 
him, he sent at once to General Jackson, directing him to pre- 
pare for assailing them, and informing him of his purpose to 
support the attack, if necessary, with his whole army. But 
General Jackson, to whom Pendleton had made the same report, 
as to the General commanding the approaches next the enemy, 
did not tarry for further prompting. He had already risqn, and 
gone toward Boteler's Ford, a crossing a little below the posi- 
tion just lost by Pendleton, and had ordered the division of A. 
P. Hill, that of Early, (who was now the successor of Lawton,) 
and that of D. H. Hill, (which had the day before been perma- 
73 



578 LIFE OF LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSON. 

nently assigned to his corps,) to follow liim thither immediately. 
Meantime General Lee had sent orders to General Longstreet to 
countermarch his corps and rejoin him, that he might proceed 
with him to the support of Jackson. The messengers sent to 
place the latter in communication with the Commander-in-Chief, 
with difficulty found him, in advance of all liis troops, without 
escort, examining the posture of the enemy's force, while the 
division of A. P. Hill was rapidly advancing to the front." 

On the north bank of the Potomac were planted seventy 
pieces of heavy artillery, while under their protection, a consid- 
erable force of infantry had passed to the southern side, and 
were drawn up in line upon the high banks next the river. 
Under the direction of General Jackson, Hill formed his gallant 
division in two lines, and advanced to the attack, regardless of 
the terrific storm of projectiles from the batteries beyond the 
river. The enemy attempted for a time to resist him, by bear- 
ing heavily against his left ; but his second line, marching by the 
left flank, disclosed itself from behind the lirst, and advanced to 
its support ; when the two charging simultaneously, and converg- 
ing toward the mass of the Federalists, swept them down the 
hill, and drove them into the river. Now occurred a scene of 
carnage, in which the bloodiest spirit of revenge might have 
sated itself for all the losses suffered at the hands of the enemy. 
The troops of Hill rushed down the declivity regardless of the 
plunging shot and shell of the opposing batteries, hurled their 
adversaries by hundreds into the water, and as they endeavored 
to struggle across,, picked them off with unerring aim. The sur- 
face of the broad river was black with tho corpses of the foe, 
and few of the luckless column ever reac]\cd the northern bank. 
This was one of those rare opportunities, which victory some- 
times gives to her favorites, to repay themselves in one trium- 
phant hour for all the sufferings and injuries of a campaign; 



m'clellan's notice of it. 579 

and well did the veterans of Hill employ the precious season. 
When the last of the intruders was destroyed or escaped, they 
withdrew a short distance, and guarded the ford for the 
remainder of the day ; but M'Clellan had learned a lesson which 
inspired due regard for the Confederate rear, and henceforth 
kept a respectful distance. When a second messenger from 
General Lee arrived, to seek for General Jackson, he found him 
watching the repulse of the enemy. His only remark was : 
" With the blessing of Providence, they will soon be driven 
back." . In this combat, General A. P. Hill did not employ a 
single piece of artillery, but relied upon the musket and bayonet 
alone. Early was at hand with his division to support him ; but 
no occasion arose for his assistance. The whole loss of the 
Confederates was thirty killed, and two hundred and thirty-one 
wounded. The Federalists admitted a loss of three thousand 
killed and drowned, and two hundred prisoners ; and one large 
brigade was nearly extinguished by the disaster. 

General M'Clellan, in his narrative of his war, only notices 
the combat of Boteler's Ford as a reconnoissance of secondary 
importance, which he despatches in a few lines. But it does not 
admit of question, that it was the beginning of a General 
advance against General Lee. Commanders do not make mere 
rcconnoissances with seventy pieces of heavy artillery, laboriously 
posted upon difficult heights. General M'Clellan declared him- 
self under the most urgent pressure from Washington, not to 
allow the "Rebels," whom he had described to his masters as a 
herd of fugitives discomfited by his miglity arm, to escape with- 
out destruction. He was commanded to follow stroke with 
stroke, until they were consumed from off the face of the earth. 
He found it necessary to make a formal argument, to show that 
he was not blameworthy for postponing their destruction later 
than the morning of September 18th. He declared that all his 



580 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

dispositions were made to fight a general action on the 19th, 
and that nothing prevented it, save the retreat of General Lee 
during the night. The reader wlio duly -weighs these things will 
hardly believe but that the advance of the 20th, at Boteler's 
Ford, was the commencement of that general assault, intended 
for the previous day. 

This truth is necessary to enable liim to apprehend the value 
of the service now rendered to his country by the military 
genius of Jackson. The Confederate army, wearied by almost 
superhuman exertions; reduced by battle and straggling; de- 
prived of its knovra leaders, by the wounding or death of the 
larger number of the gallant field officers present ; and disheart- 
ened by its terrible sufi'crings, — was in no condition to fight 
another pitched battle. General Jackson appreciated these 
facts, and hence felt the urgent necessity of avoiding a general 
action by a prompt resistance to the initial movements of the 
Federalists. When he had decided tliis, he showed equal judg- 
ment in selecting the division of A. P. Hill to lead the attack- 
This bo^y of troops, arrivmg at Sharpsbui'g late in that dread- 
ful day, had taken a short and comparatively bloodless, but 
glorious, share in its labors in repulsing the corps of the feeble 
Burnside. Their numbers were less diminished and their spirits 
less worn than those of any other troops in tlie army. To them, 
therefore, General Jackson entrusted the post of honor on this 
mornmg, — and well did they discharge the trust. Tlirough 
them. General Jackson probably saved the army on that occa- 
sion from destruction. 

It is always as. unwise as it is evil, to misrepresent the truth. 
The Federalists, in their overweening vanity and arrogance, 
claimed a victory at Sharpsburg to which they knew they were 
iU)t entitled ; and filled the public ear with fictions of the discomfi- 
ture of the Confederates wliich they knew were exaggerated. 



PRICE OF FEDERAL MISREPRESENTATIONS. 581 

They thus created for themselves a moral necessity to press 
them with boldness, and the penalty was the slaughter of Sep- 
tember 20th. The three thousand corpses floating down the 
Potomac, or lining its banks, were the price paid by them for the 
vain boastings of September 17th. 



582 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 



CHAPTER XYIII. 



FREDERICKSBURG. 



A RESPITE now occurred in tlio storms of war, when it was 
permitted to contemplate General Jackson and his soldiers in a 
more peaceful and pleasing attitude. The army was withdrawn 
a few miles, to the banks of the Opequon, a tributary of the 
Potomac, which flows to the eastward of Winchester and Mar- 
tinsburg, and empties into it a little above Harper's Ferry. 
Here they encamped for a number of weeks, in the bosom of 
the most charming regions of the lower Valley. The beauty of 
the season surpassed even the accustomed glories of the Virgin- 
ian autumn ; and amidst days of unclouded serenity, free alike 
from the ardors of summer, and the extremes of winter, the 
tii'ed soldiers recruited their strength, reposing upon the rich 
meadows and pastures of the Opequon. Man and beast alike 
revelled in abundance ; for the teeming productiveness of those 
Valley farms seemed to defy the exhaustion of war*, and the 
sweet and luxuriant greensward made the war-horse forget the 
necessity of other provender. Here, a few days of repose 
restored the elastic spirits of the men ; for the Southern soldier 
is quick to forget his toils, and resume his hopes. The bivouacs 
under the golden and crimson foliage of the trees, echoed with 
exuberant laughter and mirth; and the heroes of a score of 
deadly fields, with the light hearts of pleased children, made a jest 
of every trifle. Their passionate attachment to " Old Stonewall " 



THE AEMY RESTS AND RECRUITS. 583 

was now at its height; and his appearance rarely failed to 
evoke a burst of enthusiasm. As the men' heard the mighty 
cheer rolling toward them like a wave, from the distant camps, 
they sprung to their feet, saying, " There comes old Jack," and 
prepared to join in swelling the chorus. His heart also was 
soothed and gladdened with the rest, and the society of the peo- 
ple of his beloved District. He was now in the Valley, for 
which he had fought first and longest, the region of his chosen 
home, the scenery in which he most delighted, and amidst that 
sturdy population whose loyalty so cheered his heart. Win- 
chester, that gallant and hospitable town, was near by ; and he 
could once more mingle there with the friends of the first year 
of the war, and see them emancipated f';om the hated yoke of 
the Federals. 

But General Jackson's rest was never idleness. He was dili- 
gently improving the interval of quiet, in refitting Lis men with 
shoes and clothing, in recalling the stragglers to the ranks, 
and composing the disorders of organization, produced by the 
arduous service of the summer. His regiments were aorain 
rapidly filled up by the return of the foot-sore, the wounded, and 
the sick, and the addition of new recruits ; and his corps was 
enlarged to the proportions of a gallant army. On the 11th of 
October, the Government conferred on him the rank of Lieuten- 
ant-General, next to the highest military grade in its service. 
The army of General Lee was now divided into two great corps, 
or wings, of which the one was permanently assigned to Jackson, 
and the other, to Longstreet. Henceforth these two great sol- 
diers became as the two hands of their Commander, and served 
him with a generous emulation and mutual respect, as honorable 
to them as their well proved heroism. The organization of 
General Jackson's corps, was now confii'med. It consisted of 
four divisions, the original division commanded by him in the 



584 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

Valley campaign, now led by Brigadier-General Wm. B. Talia- 
ferro ; the division of Ewell, commanded by Brigadier-General 
Early, who was soon after rewarded for his eminent- services by 
the rank of Major-Gencral ; the division of Major-General A. P. 
Hill; and that of Major-Gencral D. H. Hill. To these were* 
attached numerous batteries, arranged into battalions of artillery 
under the various division Generals, but all supervised by Colo- 
nel Crutchficld. A part of the spoils of Harper's Ferry was 
now assigned to the most meritorious of these batteries j and 
their equipment became more perfect than ever before. To the 
famous company of Poaguo, of the Stonewall Brigade, especially, 
were assigned four of the heavy rifled guns, upon the construc- 
tion of which the Federals had exhausted all their resources of 
skill and wealth ; and this battery continued to hold its hardly 
earned place as the elite body of the corps. 

This pleasing leisure was also employed in a manner yet more 
congenial to the heart of Jackson, in extraordinary labors for 
the spiritual good of the men. Not only did the chaplains now 
redouble their diligence in preaching, and instructing the soldiers 
from tent to tent; but many eminent ministers availed them- 
selves of the lull in the storm of war, and of the genial weather, 
to visit the camps, and preach the gospel as missionaries. These 
were received by General Jackson with affectionate hospitality ; 
and while no military duty was neglected for a moment, to make 
way for their ministrations, his pious ingenuity found abundant 
openings for them. It was now that the series of labors, and the 
ingathering of precious souls began in the Confederate army, 
which have continued ever since so extraordinary a featui-e of 
its character. The most enlightened and apostolic clergymen 
of the country, forgetting for the time the distinctions of sect, 
joined in these meetings. Nightly, these novel and sacred scenes 
might be witnessed, after tlie drill and the labors of the day 



RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 585 

were over. From the bosom of some moon-lit grove a hymn was 
heard, raised by a few voices, the signal for the service ; and, at 
this sound, the multitudinoijs noises of the camps died away, 
while the men were seen gathering from every side, until the 
group from which the hymn had arisen was swelled into a great 
crowd. The man of God then arose, and began- his service by 
the light of a solitary candle, or a fire of resinous pine-wood, 
elevated on a rude platform. While his face and the pages of 
the holy "Word were illuminated thus, all else was in solemn 
shadow ; and his eye could distinguish nothing of his- audience, 
save the dusky outline of the multitude seated all around, in a 
wide circle, upon the dry leaves, or the greensward. But though 
his eye could not mark the impress of the truth, it was drank in 
by eager ears ; and many was the bearded cheek, which had not 
been blanched amidst the horrors of Sharpsburg, which was now 
wet with silent tears. At some of these meetings General Jack- 
son was a constant worshipper, seated modestly in an unnoticed 
corner amidst the common soldiers, but setting the example of 
the most devout attention. In his letters to his friends, he 
related the success of the Word among his men, with ascriptions 
of warm and adoring gratitude to God. One of these, addressed 
to Mrs. Jackson, must suffice as an instance : — 

"Bunker Hill, October 13th. 

" Mr. G invited me to be present at communion in his 

church yesterday, but I was prevented from enjoying the privi- 
lege. But I heard an excellent sermon from the Rev. Dr. S . 

His text was I. Timothy, chap, ii: 5th and 6th verses." ("For 
there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the 
man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testi- 
fied in due time.") "It was a powerful exposition of the word 

of God. He is a great revival minister ; and when he came to 

74 



586 LIFE OP LIEUL-GENERAL JACKSON. 

the word ^himself,' he placed an emphasis on it, and gave to it, 

through God's blessing, a power that I never before felt 

And I felt, with an intensity that I never before recollect having 
realized, that truly the sinner who does not, under gospel priv- 
ileges, tui-n to God^ deserves the agonies of perdition. The Doctor 
several times in appealing to the sinner, repeated the sixth verse 
' Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,' 
What more could God do than give Idmself a ransom ? . . . . He 
is laboring in a revival in General E well's division. Oh, it is a 
glorious privilege to be a minister of the gospel of the Prince 
of Peace ! There is no equal position in this world." 

Such was tlie estimate of the worth of the minister's work, by 
one whose fame was then filling the civilized world. It may be 
added, once for all, that this i-eligious reformation, which was 
destined to be spread so widely through the army by General 
Jackson's efforts, bore the fruits of a true work of God's grace. 
That there was more apparent bloom tlian fruit, as in every 
other ingathering which ever blessed the Church, from the Pen- 
tecostal down, is, of course, fully admitted. It is not to bo 
supposed that there were no good people engaged in it, whose 
mistaken zeal led them to push it on by indiscreet means, and 
no converts whose temporary warmth was due rather to the 
gregarious sympathies of the camp^ than to the truth and Spirit. 
But still, there was a glorious reformation in many souls to true 
holiness, diminishing permanently the wickedness of the camps, 
turning many finally away from their sins. It was the uniform 
testimony of even the ungodly, that the commands most largely 
blessed by this reform became the most efficient in the service 
of their country ; v.'ith the best discipline, the fewest stragglers, 
and the steadiest behavior in battle. It was the general con- 
clusion of the whole people, that the subsequent efficiency 



HIS SPIRITUAL JOY. 587 

of the corps was promoted as much by this work of divine grace 
as by tlie professional ability of General Jackson. 

It was a little after the date of the letter just quoted, that one 
of those instances arose in which he disclosed to others his spiri- 
tual emotions. The night was damp and rainy, when a brother 
ofScer whom he greatly valued visited him on business. After 
this was despatched, Jackson seemed to have a leisure unwonted 
for him, and urged his friend to remain, and spend a short time 
in relaxation. Although the latter did not yet call himself a 
Christian, indeed, he was one for whose spiritual good the Gene- 
ral was greatly concerned. The conversation was soon insensi- 
bly turned on the things of Redemption. His friend related how 
Dr. S., — the eminent minister mentioned in the last letter, — 
had been understood by him to declare, that the fear of wrath 
did not enter at all as an element of that godly sorrow for sin, 
which marks true repentance j but that it was prompted solely 
by love and gratitude. The General answered, that the doctrine 
intended by Dr. S, had probably been misapprehended by him. 
For his part, he supposed that, in the new-born believer, both 
fear and love actuated his repentance. But as his assurance 
became more clear of the Redeemer's mercy to his soul, his obe- 
dience became less servile, and more affectionate j until, in the 
most favored saints, perfect love cast out fear. He then declared 
that he had been, himself, for a long time, a stranger to fear of 
wrath ; because he knew and was assured of the love of Clu'ist to 
his soul ; that he felt not the faintest dread that he should ever 
fall under the wrath of God, although a great sinner ; because 
lie knew that it was forever reconciled by the righteousness of 
Christ, and . that love for God and Chi'ist was now the practical 
spring of all his penitence. Speaking thus, Jackson arose from 
his seat, and, with an impressive union of humility and solemn 
elation, continued in substance thus : " Nothing earthly can mar 



588 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

my happiness. I know that hcaren is in store for me ; and I 
should rejoice in the prospect of going there to-morrow. Under- 
stand me : I am not sick ; I am not sad ; God has greatly blessed 
me ; and I have as much to love here as any man, and life is very 
bright to me. But, still, I am ready to leave it any day, without 
trcpidatioil or regret, for that heaven which I know awaits me, 
through the mercy of my Heavenly Father. And I would not agree 

to the slightest diminution of one shade of my glory there" 

[Here he paused, as though to consider what terrestrial measure 
he might best select to express the largeness of his joys] — ■■ — " No : 
not for all the fame which I have acquired, or shall ever win in 
this world." With these words he sunk into his chair, and his 
friend retired — awe-struck, as though he had seen the face of an 
angel. But he did not fail to notice the revelation made of 
Jackson's master-passion by nature, in the object he had chosen 
to express the value of his heavenly inheritance. It was fame ! 
Not wealth, nor domestic joys, nor literature — but well-earned 
fame. Let the young aspirant consider also, how even this pas- 
sion, which the world calls the most honorable of all, was chas- 
tened and crucified in him by a nobler longing. 

It was manifestly about the same time, that the following letter 
was written to Mrs. Jackson. Mentioning several presents, he 
says: 

"Oct. 27. 

"Our God makes me so many friends! I mention these 
things in order that you may see how much kindness has been 
sho^vn me ; and to express things for which I should be more 
grateful, and to give you renewed cause for gratitude." .... 

"Don't trouble yourself about representations that are made 
of me. These things are earthly and transitory. There are 
real and glorious blessings, I trust, in reserve for us, beyond this 



RAILROAD DESTROYED. 589 

life. It is best for us to keep our eyes fixed upon the throne of 
God, and the realities of a more glorious existence beyond the 
verge of time. It is gratifying to be beloved, and to have our 
conduct approved by our fellow men ; bnt this is not worthy to 
be compared with the glory that is in reservation for us, in the 
presence of the glorified Redeemer. Let us endeavor to adorn 
the doctrine of Christ our Saviour, in all things ; knowing that 
there awaits us ' a far more exceedino: and eternal weight of 
glory.' I would not relinquish the slightest diminution of that 
glory, for all this world, and all that it can give. My prayer is, 
that such may ever be the feeling of my heart. It appears to me 
that it would be better for you not to have any thing written 
about me. Let us follow the teaching of inspiration: 'Let 
another praise thee, and not thyself' I appreciate the loving 
interest that prompted the desire." 

On the 1 8th of October, General Jackson removed his head- 
quarters from Bunker Hill to Martinsburg, to superintend the 
destruction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which was com- 
mitted to his corjjs. The importance of this great thoroughfare 
between Washington and the West has been already described ; 
and it was determined that the enemy should be as thoroughly 
deprived of its use as possible. General Jackson now applied a 
system of his own to dismantle it. Besides burning all bridges, 
and breaking up all culverts, he ripped the iron nails from the 
cross-ties, using the former as levers, collected the latter into 
heaps two or three feet high, and laying the bars of iron across 
the top, set fire to the whole. The heat of such log-heaps in 
full blaze rendered the iron red-hot, and the weight of the pro- 
jecting ends warped and bent it into every imaginable shape. 
But as though this were not enough, the soldiers, seizing the 
great bars while heated in the middle, bent them around trees, 



590 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACICSON. 

and amused their ingenuity in reducing them to every fantastic 
use. From the hamlet of Hedgesville, west of Martinsburg, to a 
point near Harper's Ferry, the track was thus utterly destroyed, 
for a distance of thirty miles ; and after the work was done, 
Jackson rode deliberately over the whole, to assure himself of 
its completeness. 

At the end of the month, the corps moved toward the Shenan- 
doah river and the Blue Ridge, and encamped upon the road 
from Charlcstown to Bcrryville. The purpose of tliis change was 
to watch 3I'Clellan, who had now begim to cross the Potomac 
below Harper's Ferry. The Government at "Washington had 
indicated their discontent with the sluggish movements of this 
General in many ways, and had urged him to advance into Vir- 
ginia, and assail the Confederates again, before they could 
recruit their strength. B}it he had contented himself with a few 
rcconnoissanccs of cavalry, and had refused to move until his 
vast army received large accessions, and a new outfit of clothing 
and equipments. At length all his requisitions were met: and 
with a thoroughly furnished army of one Inmdrod and forty 
thousand men, he began to cross the Potomac from Berlin into 
tho county of Loudoun, on the 23rd of October. But so vast 
was the apparaUis of this huge host, six days were consumed in 
transferring it to the south bank of the river. The plan which 
its leader seemed to propose to himself was to occupy the passes 
of the Blue Ridge between himself and General Lee, as he pro- 
ceeded Southward, so as to protect himself from an attack in 
flank; and by advancing toAvard the interior of the State, to 
compel him to leave Marylantl free from invasion, in order to 
place himself between the Federalists and Richmond. Li its 
fii-st results, this strategy was successful ; tho Confederate army 
was promptly recalled from the neighborhood of the Potomac. 
As soon as the direction of M'Clcllan's advance was disclosed, a 



CAMPAIGN AGAIN ON RAPPAHANNOCK. 591 

part of General Longstreet's corps was tliroTm before him at 
Uppervillo, and the remamder speedily followed it, and took 
position in M'Clellan's front, on the east of Blue Ridge ; while 
the corps of General Jackson was left to guard the Valley. 
]\['Clcllan, after his usual cautious fashion, advanced his outposts 
as far south as Warrenton, in Fauquier County, while his masses 
occupied the line of the Manassa's Gap road, and the country 
thereabouts. On the 5th of November one of his detachments, 
proceeding westward through Snicker's Gap, attempted to pass 
the Shenandoah at Castleman's Ferry, in the face of two brigades 
of A. -P. Hill's division. They were chastised by him with a 
severe repulse, and the loss of two hundred men ; and made no 
further attempts to penetrate the Yallej''. 

General Lee, accompanying the corps of Longstrect and 
Stuart's cavalry, now took post at Culpepper Court House, and 
the two adversaries again confronted each other, with the Rap- 
pahannock, between them. M'Clellan was apparently pursuing 
the same line of operations which the unlucky Pope had found 
so difficult. If his purpose was to follow the Orange Eaiboad 
to Gordonsville, and thence turn eastward to Richmond, it was 
beset by the grave inconveniences, that in obliquely approaching 
the Rapid Ann by this line, he exposed his communications to a 
fatal side- thrust; and that, at Gordonsville, he must pass around 
an acute angle, which must present his flank most awkwardly to 
liis adversary. If, forsaking the Orange Railroad, he marched 
directly southeast, the vast dimensions of his army, and the 
enormous consumption of supplies by it, would render it a diffi- 
cult problem how it was to be provisioned without other 
transportation than wagon trains over the country roads of 
Virginia. If M^Clellan had expedients for overcoming these 
difficulties, they remained undisclosed; for about this time 
tlie political jealousies between him and his Government 



592 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

became so irrepressible, that bo was suddenly relieved of hia 
command, and ordered to retire into private life. His suc- 
cessor was Major-General Burnside, wlio seems to have been 
commended to the authorities chiefly by the fact, that the im- 
patient public could say nothing against him, because nothing 
was known of him. 

While the Federalists were advancing into Fauquier, and 
General Lee was confronting them in Culpepper, it was a subject 
of anxious discussion between him and General Jackson, what 
disposition should be now made of his corjjs. The latter desired 
to remain with it in the Valley, or at least, to continue to thix'aten 
the enemy's right wing by the passes of the Blue Ridge. Rea- 
soning from the axiom, that one ought never to do the thing 
which his adversary desires him to do, he concluded that the 
manifest wish of M'Clcllan to draw the Confederates away from 
the Valley, by his thi-eatened advance into Eastern Virginia, 
should not be gratified. He believed that if one wing of the 
army held fast to that country and the Blue Ridge, his advance 
would be effectually checked ', or if it were not, his communica- 
tions would speedily be exposed to a side blow as disastrous as 
that which he had dealt to Pope at Manassa's. Moreover, his 
love for the country, and his knowledge of the inestimable value 
of its teeming resources, made him reluctant to see it vacated to 
the enemy. True, the disposition of forces which he advocated 
seemed to give the enemy the power to place himself between the 
two parts of the Confederate army. But Jackson's knowledge 
of the sluggish movements of that unwieldy force, and of its lack 
of enterprise, with his own vigilance and celerity, removed all 
fear of being beaten in detail. Tlic Commandcr-in-Cliief acqui- 
esced, for a time, in his suggestions. An expedition to assail the 
Federal right and rear was proposed j but the lack of shoes and 
clotliing in Jackson's corjys prevented its execution. And new 



BURNSIDE COMMANDS. HIS PLANS. . 593 

movements of Burnside, after a time, required the relinquishment 
of all the plans which have been detailed. 

This General, after gathering the reins of authority into his 
hands, determined to direct his command to a new base, whence 
to attack the Confederate capital. The route by Fredericksburg, 
whence there ran a railroad of sixty miles' length, direct to 
Richmond, possessed at least the advantage that it had not yet 
been signalized by any Federal disaster. Burnside determined 
to adopt this line, making his base of supplies the landing of Acquia 
Creek, upon the Potomac, where the Fredericksburg Railroad 
terminated, thirteen miles north of that town. It was an impor- 
tant recommendation of this route to his jealous masters in Wash- 
ington, that by pursuing it, he kept that city covered during his 
advance upon the rival metropolis, and <3omposed the fears in 
the breast of the Government which had so retarded the opera- 
tions of M'Clellan on the peninsula. In truth, the reasonings 
of the latter General in favor of the James river as the true line 
by which to take Richmond were just. But next to that line, 
the one selected by Buiiiside obviously offered the fewest diffi- 
culties. It gave him an unobstructed water-carriage for his 
supplies, more than one-thii'd of the way. It was the most direct 
route between the two cities ; and therefore he uncovered his 
own line of operations least, as he advanced. It gave him, from 
the Potomac to Richmond, a continuous line of railroad to trans- 
port the apparatus of his ariny. It was true, that this route 
brought him upon the Rappahannock where its current was 
enlarged by the accession of the Rapid Ann ; but Burnside might 
have argued that military experience has proved a river is not 
usually an effectual obstacle to an attacking army, and that the 
vast resources of his Government would easily enable him to 
overcome it. The result, moreover, justified his action, so far as 
the river was concerned ; for he did, in fact, experience little 
75 



594 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

difficulty in tlie actual passage of tlic stream. How much iuflu- 
cnce he may have allowed to the threatening attitude of General 
Jackson upon the right of his position in Fauquier, cannot be 
known; but his proposed' change of base was manifestly the 
most ready way to elude that danger. About the middle of 
November, thei^efore, he began to transfer his army, by a side 
march, down the north bank of the Rappahannock, to the heights 
opposite Fredericksburg. He hoped to arrive there before his 
designs were known to General Lee, to occupy the town and the 
crossings of the river without resistance, and to commence the 
race for Richmond in advance of the Confederates. 

But the vigilance of his adversary, and the customary heavi- 
ness of the movement of his plethoric army, disappointed his 
hopes. On the 18th of November, General Stuart, ciossing the 
Rappahannock from Culpepper, made a thorough reconnaissance 
as far as Warrcnton, and learned with certainty that the whole 
Federal army was moving upon Fredericksburg. AVhen the 
Federal General Sumner reached Falmouth, on the north side of 
the Rappahannock, he found a force oj^ Confederates guarding 
the passage across it ; and before he could overpower them, the 
divisions of M'Laws and Ransom appeared. The whole remain- 
der of Longstreet's coj-jjs followed from Culpepper soon after, 
and took up a strong position on the southern bank. 

As soon as this movement of Burnside was unmasked, Gen- 
eral Lee suggested to General Jackson the propriety of his 
leaving the Valley of Virginia, to support Longstrect. He there- 
fore complied at once, and beginning his march from Winchester, 
November 22nd, in eight days transferred hiscor/w with an inter- 
val of two days' rest, to the vicinity of Fredericksburg. His 
journey was tlu-ough the great Valley to New Market, and thence 
by the Columbia Bridge, Fisher's Gap and !Madison Court House, 
to Guinea's Station upon tlic raih'oad, a few miles south of 



FEEDERICKSBURG DESERTED. 595 

Longstrect's position; where the troops arrived the 1st of 
December. But on the 21st of November, Sumner had sum- 
moned the town to surrender, under a threat of cannonading it 
the next daj. The weather Avas rainy and tempestuous, and 
only a few hours of darkness were allowed the inhabitants to 
remove from their homes. General Lee assured the city author- 
ities that he would pledge himself not to use the place for mili- 
tary purposes ; but that he could not permit the enemy'to occupy 
it. Although no garrison was within its precincts at that time, 
to justify the outrage of a bombardment, yet the Federal Com- 
mander refused to retract his tlireat, and only extended to the 
people the poor privilege of a prolongation of the time for 
removal to forty-eight hours. Nearly the whole population of 
the city now deserted their homes, at the beginning of winter, 
and with an unexampled patriotism, accepted all the horrors of 
exile, rather than submit to the yoke of the enemies of their 
country. The bombardment was, however, deferred. 

"When General Jackson arrived near Fredericksburg, several 
Federal gunboats had appeared at the village of Port Royal, 
upon the Eappahannock, twenty miles below. As the positions 
upon the southern bank were there less strong, it was surmised 
that the enemy might design a landing or a crossing. General 
Jackson was therefore directed to send the division of D. H. Hill 
to guard that place. When he gave him this order he said to 
hiui : " I am opposed to fighting here. "We will whip the enemy 
but gain no fruits of victory. I have advised the line of tlie 
North Anna, but have been overruled." These words were pro- 
phetic. The objection which General Jackson stated had also 
been maturely weighed by the Commander-in-Chief; but it was 
counterpoised by other considerations, which he did not feel at 
liberty to disregard. To adopt the North Anna as his line of 
defence, would have been to surrender to the occupation of tlie 



596 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

enemy, a breadth of tliirty-fivc miles of territory. The Confed- 
erate Government' was reluetant to submit to the political effect 
of such a retreat ; and the "waning resources of the Common- 
wealth warned them to relinquish no space to the enemy, which 
might yield important supplies for the sustenance of the army. 

General D. H. Hill proceeded to Port Royal on the 3rd of 
December, constructed a slight entrenchment above that village 
during the 'night, and the next day, chose positions for his artil- 
lery. Carter's battery of Parrot guns was placed on a com- 
manding hill west of the place, and Hardaway's, with one English 
Whitworth gun of great power and range, was posted three 
miles below. On the 5th these two officers ojDeucd upon the 
Federal gunboats with such effect as to compel them promptly 
to change thcii* position. By retiring behind the village they 
shielded themselves from the fire of Carter, but were still 
exposed to that of Hardaway. They now proceeded to vent 
their spleen in a dastardly outrage, which, were it not overshad- 
owed by so many others more enormous, would fix upon them 
the detestation of all men. Although the peaceful village was 
not occupied as a position by any Confederate battery or other 
force ; the ships of war now opened a furious bombardment upon 
it, without a moment's notice. The little town was battered half 
into riiins ; but although all the females, aged, sick, and children, 
were caught within it, in unsuspecting security, the superintend- 
ing mercy of Providence delivered them all from death. The 
only casualties were the killing of a dog, and the wounding of a 
poor African slave. But while this dastardly attack was proceed- 
ing, Hardaway continued pertinaciously to pound them with his 
Whitworth shot, until they gave up the contest, and retii'ed with 
loss do^vn the river, running the gantlet of the guns of Major 
Pelham's horse artillery, which lined the bank. A few days after, 
they returned toward Port Royal with five additional ships ; but 



burnside's delays. 597 

WQYQ again driven away by the artillery of Hill, reinforced by 
Colonel Brown from the reserves. 

A few miles above Port Royal an insignificant stream, at a 
place known as the Hop Yard, enters the Rappahannock. The 
attention of General D. H. Hill was somehow called to it, as 
offering an eligible place for the passage of the enemy ; and he 
resolved to examine it thoroughly. He found that the configura- 
tion of the country did, indeed, give special advantages to the 
force attempting to pass from the north side, and moreover, 'ihat 
there were marks not to be mistaken, of its occupation for that 
purpose by the enemy. When these facts were reported to 
General Jackson, he immediately appreciated their importance, 
and sent the division of Early to the place, which began dili- 
gently to fortify the southern bank. The reports of the Federal 
Generals subsequently disclosed the importance of these pre- 
cautions. Halleck had himself selected the Hop Yard as the 
place for crossing, and Burnside had planned a surprise there, 
which was relinquished when they perceived that the ground was 
pre-occupied. 

Meantime the Federal Government was urging that unhappy 
commander to force the line of the Rappahannock before further 
obstacles were accumulated in his front; and he was excusing 
himself by complaining that his pontoon trains had not been 
forwarded to him from the. upper Potomac. Twenty days were 
spent in these mutual criminations. Of the merits of the quarrel, 
it is enough to say, that the delay of the bridge trains probably 
evinced the incompetency both of himself and Halleck. But the 
interval was diligently improved by him in perfecting his com- 
munications at Acquia Creek, fortifying the heights north of the 
Rappahannock, and arming them with the most potent equipment 
of heavy guns ever marshalled in the field by any general. The 
lavish preparations of his government supplied him with an 



598 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENEEAL JACKSON. 

apparatus, compared with wliicli tlic gigantic artillery of Na- 
poleon was puny. Besides innumerable field batteries of lighter 
guns, which were intended to march and fight with his divisions 
of infantry, one hundred and eighty heavy cannon, some of them 
throwing shot of a hundred pounds' weight, frowned upon the 
town and its approaches, from the opposing hills. The " grand 
army " was now arranged into tlu'ce great corps, under Sumner, 
Hooker, and Franklin, which made an aggi'cgate of one hundi-ed 
and twenty-five thousand men, besides a corps of twenty-five 
thousand more, under the German Sigel, which performed the 
duties of a rear-guard. 

Upon the 10th of December, Burnside at length received his 
pontoon trains ; and he determined at once to prepare for forcing 
his way in the front of the Confederate army, and beginning 
his onward march to Richmond. He was confronted, upon the 
heights before Fredericksburg, by the corps of Longstreet. At 
Port Royal was the division of D. II. Hill; between him and 
Longstreet, was the division of Early; and the remainder of 
Jackson's corps was held in reserve about Guinea's Station, 
ready to support cither point. The cavalry division of Stuart 
guarded the course of the Rappahannock for many miles above 
and below ; and prosecuted, with their usual audacity, their raids 
within the enemy's lines. The defensive force may be stated 
with substantial, although not with exact correctness, at sixty- 
five thousand men of all arms. Of these. General Jackson's 
corps included about twenty-five thousand effective men. 

The impressive drama which was now about to occui' upon the 
plains of Fredericksburg, presents to the student of history one 
of the most brilliant examples of defensive warfare. To com- 
prehend its true merits, he must acquii-e a distmct conception of 
the topography of the arena, upon which it was enacted. The 
general course of the Rappahannock, though sinuous, may be 



BATTLE OP FREDERICKSBURG. 



i09 




Scale, 1 Inch t o a MUe. 

BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG 



GOO LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

said to be, here, from -west to cast; and it divides tlie county 
of Stafford on the north, from that of Spottsylvania on the 
south. The town of Fredericksburg is in the latter; an(i the 
village of Falmouth, a mile above, is in the former. The tides 
flow to the foot of the town; so that belowythe stream is deep, 
though narrow ; while immediately above, it is shallow and ford- 
able during dry seasons. The country along its banks here has, 
in a marked degree, those features which characterize the tidal 
streams of Eastern Virginia. There arc tlu-ee stages, or grades, 
proceeding from the water, of which the second is more elevated 
than the first, and the third than the second. The first of these 
levels, next the water's edge, is the modern alluvium^ or low 
ground proper, rarely marshy, yet subject to the inundations of 
the great freshets, with a horizontal surface, and a deep, black 
soil. It is of very variable width, spreading in some places to 
the extent of a beautiful meadow, and in others, contracted to a 
narrow strip of land. The traveller moving directly from the 
river, after passing over this low belt, ascends a short, steep hill, 
thirty or forty feet high, and then finds himself upon a table 
land of gi'cater extent, which is of an older alluvial deposit, but 
nearly horizontal likewise. It is this level, extending to the 
width of miles, in many places, which constitutes the great grain 
region of the Happahannock. Its dry, kindly and fertile soil has 
long ago tempted the inhabitants to strip it of its forest ; and the 
whole surface was divided into extensive fields, enclosed by 
wooden fences or hedge-rows, and dotted over with country 
mansions and the humbler homes of the servants. The streams 
making their way across the table land from the interior to the 
Rappahannock, as may easily be surmised, have excavated for 
themselves deep channels through its alluvial structure; along 
which they flow sluggishly upon the level of the first bottoms 
l^elow. Finally, the river, like all other gi'cat streams, is inclined 



TOPOGRAPHY. GO.l 

to tlii'ow tlie main bulk of its flats wholly on the one side 
or the other, by running at, ox' near, the base of the highlands ; 
and at Fredericksburg, nearly all the level, lands are on the south 
side. It is on this second stage or table land, that the town of 
Fredericksburg is seated; and it stretches along the river for 
more than a mile, with a breadth of a. half mile backward. 

If the traveller would proceed farther from this table land 
toward the interior, he next ascends the highlands proper, which 
rise in swelling hills of the altitude of fifty or a hundred feet, 
nowhere rocky or craggy, but sometimes bold ; and pierced here 
and there by the vales through which the inland rivulets descend 
to the lower stages. From the top of this l^angc of hills, the 
interior stretches away into a, region of gentle hills and dale.s, of 
which the average altitude is far above the table lands. And as 
the soil of the highlands is thin and gravell}^, the larger part of 
the bordering front of hills was left to the original forest^ 
whence the fuel and timber, for the vast farms of the table land 
were taken. It will now be easily understood how the town of 
Fredericksburg, with the narrow plain in which it is seated, is 
commanded both from the hills of Stafford, and from those of 
Spottsylvania, which are here separated by the distance of a 
mile. These heights are lofty, and perhaps of equal altitude 
near the town. Where the main country road going south, 
issues from the streets, it is overlooked near at hand by a noble 
hill, Imown, from the country seat upon its brow, as Marye's 
Hill. The highway, striking the base of this height, tuyng aside 
to the eastward, in order to avoid its acclivity, and thus skirts 
its base for a few hundred yards, until reaching the course of a 
sparkling rivulet called the Hazel, it again resumes its southern 
direction, and finds its way up the vale of that stream into the 
interior, by a gradual ascent. It will be perceived from this 
that the road has a tract of a few hundred yards, which runs 
76 



602 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

parallel with the edge of tlic town. This is bordered on the 
left, or to"vni-ward side, by a massive stone fence, embanked with 
earth ; and between it and the edge of the suburb, is a narrow 
and level field. After passing the Hazel, the highlands take a 
wide sweep to the southeastward (receding from the Rappa- 
hamiock, until the ample table land acquires a breadth of nearly 
.tlu"ee miles) ; and continually declines in elevation and boldness, 
as it is followed in that direction. At the broadest place, the 
plain, is watered by another rivulet, called Deep Run, whose 
springs, breaking from the base of the heights, collect into a 
stream, and make tlicii* way along a deep channel, to the Rappa- 
hannock, a half mile below the mouth of the Ilazel, and a mile 
below the town. The rim of liighland, after encircliiig the 
sources of Deep Run, again approaches the river somewhat, 
continually diminishmg its altitude, until, at the distance of four 
aud a half miles east of Fredericksburg, the height gently de- 
clines into a series of soft waves of land, which terminate at the 
valley of the Massaponax. This is a tributary of the Rappahan- 
nock, which taking its rise in the interior of Spottsylvania, flows 
northward with a current of gi^eater pretensions than the Ilazel 
and Deep Run, and enters the river five miles below Fredericks- 
burg. It is itself bordered, for several miles upward, by an 
expansive valley of broad meadows and gentle slopes, which are, 
in fact, an extension of the greater table land of the Rappahan- 
nock. Immediately east of the Massaponax, the highlands ap- 
proach the very margin of the river on both sides, and hug it 
closely for several miles. 

A country road, known as the Port-Royal or River Road, 
issues from the town at its eastern corner, and proceeds down 
the middle of the great table land, at the distance of a mile from 
the river, and a mile and a half from the heights, until it crosses 
the Massaponax, and penetrates the caatern highlands. This 



EOADS. 603 

road rims, the larger part of its course, between two fences, each 
of which is set upon an fearthen bank of a yard's height, thickly 
grown with cedars and other hedge-row trees. It therefore 
■♦offered to the occupants the advantages of a double line of low, 
but very substantial field-works ; for the embankments, consoli- 
dated by time, and interlaced with the roots of trees, offered a 
perfect defence against rifle balls, and no mean protection against 
heavier projectiles. This whole lane of four and a half miles' 
length, was commanded by a multitude of Federal guns of long- 
range, upon the Stafford heights. The railroad to Richmond, 
also emerging from the eastern end of the town, passed tlu^ough 
the plain upon an embankment a couple of feet high, parallel to 
the river road, and between it and the hills, until approaching 
the Massaponax, it turned southward with a wide and sweeping 
curve, seeking to make its way, by the valley of that stream, to 
the interior. It is just where the heights finally sink into the 
wide valley of that creek, that the raih'oad crosses an old country 
thoroughfare, Imown as the mine road ; and here was seated a 
little way-side station, called Hamilton's Crossing. The plain 
of Fredericksburg, which was destined to be the great battle- 
field, may be roughly compared to the half of a vast ellipsis, 
divided by its longer axis, with the west end containing the 
town, contracted to a narrow apex, and the eastern expanded 
into an ample section of a circle. 

The reader is requested to master this somewhat particular 
description, because it is necessary to the correct understanding 
of transactions much misunderstood. The zeal of the Federals, 
of all mortals most passionately thirsting for that reputation for 
military prowess to which they are so little entitled, has led them 
with one voice to excuse their disaster, after it occurred, by 
attributing it to the excellence of the Confederate position, and 
the natural difficulties of the crossing. Justice both to themuch- 



CO-l LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

abused Burusidc, and to the Confederate army, requires that the 
topography be correctly conceived. It will then be seen, that 
wliilc the position of General Lee was good as a whole, and on 
his left strong, it gave him no advantage whatever upon his right 
(save a slight superiority of elevation for his batteries), which 
was not matched by at least equal advantages in the position of 
the enemy. The ground which Jackson so successfully held 
against the double numbers of Franklin and Kookcr in the com- 
ing battle, M^as no stronger than that which he wrested from 
Shields at Port Republic, and not near so strong as that which 
he and- Longstreet stormed at the Chickahomiuy, with inferior 
forces. When the battle of Fredericksburg was fought. General 
Jackson had not a yard of entrenchment in his front ; indeed his 
corjys only came upon their ground during the night, and the 
early morning preceding the struggle. The elaborate lines which 
the military tourist saw afterward, were all the work of subse- 
quent weeks, provided by General Lee against the possibility of 
future attacks. On the left, the battle-line of Longstreet was 
strengthened, at several places, by light earthworks, or barri- 
cades of timber, and ahattis; while the heavy field-guns upon 
Marye's Heights, and thence toward the west were protected by 
slight lunettes or epaulements. It, should also be reniembcred, 
that the position of General Lee gave no effectual advantage 
toward the resistance of the passage of the river by Burnsidc, 
and his quiet establishment on the southern bank, in a situation 
perfectly tcna.ble and secure. The configuration of the Stafibrd 
Heights and of the river flats and bluffs, the superiority of the 
Federal numbers, and the power of their countless batteries, 
made him master of those points. It was therefore with perfect 
truth that he claimed, in his despatches of the 12th of December, 
that the difficulties of the Rappahannock were surmounted, and 
that nothing remained between liim and the march to Richmond 



barksdale's combat in feedebicksburg. 605 

except tlie equal grapple with the army of' Lee upon a fair and 
open battle-field. It was only after that grapple had occurred; 
and the heroism of the Confederate soldiery, with the masterly 
skill of their leaders, had made it a frightful disaster, that these 
facts were diligently obscured. The river bank in the possession 
of the Federalists .did not, indeed, present that concave curve 
which the military authorities recommend as favorable to, the 
success of the assailants seeking to pass a; stream in the face of 
an enemy. .But it showed, in every other respect/ all the requi- 
sites wliich they ask for a successful crossing ; and the peculiar 
form of the opposite flats made the absence of this curvature 
wholly unimportant to Burnside. These truths will manifest 
themselves without discussion, as the narrative proceeds. 

Before the break of day, on the 11th of December, the signal 
guns of the Confederates gave note that Burnside was moving, 
and the whole army stood to its weapons. The guardianship of 
the river bank had be'Cn committed to Barksdale's Mississippi 
brigade, from M'Laws's division; One regiment was at the 
mouth of Deep Run, and the remainder, assisted by the 8tli 
Florida, was in the town ; two of the regiments being posted in 
the cellars of houses overlooking the water, and in trenches and 
other hiding-places, to resist the construction of bridges. At 
DCiCp Run there was no protection from the overpowering fire 
of the numerous batteries on the Stafford Heights, and of the 
large bodies of infantry which lined the opposing bank. After 
a struggle, protracted, beyond all expectation, to the middle of 
the day, this detaclunent was compelled to retire ; and about one 
o'clock, p. M., the Federalists completed a pontoon bridge, and 
immediately began the passage of a heavy column of infantry 
and artillery. Upon the low and narrow bench of the first bot- 
tom, and beneath the steep bluff which separates it from the 
second level, they found a secure place to land and extend thei^ 



606 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

lines. Unless the Confederates could advance across the wide 
plain, to the very brink of that bluff, which Teas rendered impos- 
sible by the frowniug batteries of the opposing heights, the enemy 
■was as completely shielded from their fire as though behind the 
■walls of a great castle. Having gained this lodgement, the Fede- 
ralists busied themselves in laying down other bridges, and pass- 
ing over additional troops. But at Fredericksburg they found 
sterner work. The riflemen of Barksdale, availing themselves 
of every covert, poured so deadly a fire upon the worldng par- 
ties and their guards, that they were again and again driven 
back with great slaughter, in their attempts to gain the southern 
bank. Nine times did the thronging multitudes encourage each 
other to retui-n to the task. The floating bridge projected itself 
nine times from the northern shore, covered with a busy swarm 
of men bearing timbers ; when the Mississippians, awaiting their 
approach within their deadly aim, opened upon them stinging 
volleys which strewed the bridge and the water with corpses. 
Until one o'clock, p. M., this contest continued, and no progi'css 
was made toward winning the southern bank. Burnside then 
opened upon the town every piece of artillery which could be 
brought to bear upon it. One hundred and eighty cannon began 
to belch their thunders upon the devoted city. To the specta- 
tors upon the opposing hill it seemed wrapped in a whirlwind of 
smoke and flame ; while from the bosom of the gloom the crash 
of falling buildings, the explosion of sliells, the hissing of the 
fires, and the yells of the combatants arose in frightful chorus, 
as from a imndemonium. Yet, amidst this terrific tempest, the 
little brigade of Barksdale clung to the bank Avith invincible 
tenacity ; and it was only after three hours more that they stub- 
bornly rcth'ed a couple of squares, before a heavy detachment 
of infantry landed from boats under the protection of the can- 
nonade. But here they again resumed the contest, and, fighting 



JACKSON CONCENTRATES. 607 

from street to street, held the enemy at bay until far into the 
night. When they were told that they had now accomplished 
all that was desired, and commanded to withdraw, they said that 
their position was tenable enough still, and entreated to be 
allowed to remain and fight the enemy. He had now completed 
two or three bridges, by which heavy columns of mfantry were 
pouring into the town. It was no part of General Lee's plan to 
contest the occupation longer ; for his position was chosen, not 
to prevent the crossing of the river, but the advance from it. 
He therefore withdrew the regiments of Barksdale, during the 
early part of the night, to his lines about Marye's Hill. The 
desired time for preparing a reception for the enemy had been 
gained. 

During all the next day, the landscape was obscured l^y a 
dense fog, beneath which as a mask the Federalists carried on 
their preparations for attack. Whenever this curtain was lifted 
up momentarily, the ravines leading from the Stafford Heights to 
the river bank, were seen black with the vast masses of Federal 
infantry pressing toward the bridges, and their lines were per- 
ceived upon the plain advanced as far as the river road. The 
Confederate artillerists now and then , seized these glimpses, to 
direct a cannon shot where the throngs were thickest, never fail- 
ing to elicit an angry reply from the opposing heights. But 
otherwise, the whole day passed without hostile collision. The 
two divisions of General Jackson near Guinea's Station, were 
brought forward to strengthen the right ; and as it was now 
beyond a doubt that Fredericksburg was to be the place of the 
gi-eat collision, messengers were sent to Port Royal for the other 
divisions. The summons reached General D. H. Hill a little 
before sunset on the 12th. His troops were then eighteen miles 
from the post they were designed to occupy upon the battle-field ; 
but such was the promptitude of thcii' action, by dawn on the 



608 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

next morning tliey were in tlieir places, and ready to meet the 
enemy. The division of Early, which was somewhat nearer at 
hand, preceded them in their arrival upon the field. 

The morning of Saturday, December 13th, now arose, like its 
predecessor, calm and foggy. The city and the extended plain 
were wrapped in the impenetrable mantle of mist, until ten 
o'clock A. M. ; but on both sides, every sound which arose from 
the obscurity gave token of gi'im preparation. The line of Gen- 
eral Lee was stretched for fivQ. and a half miles, from the 
heights overlooking Falmouth, along the edge of the highlands, 
to Hamilton's Crossing, near the Massaponax. Upon the crests 
of the hills were placed his numerous batteries ; Avhile Marye's 
Hill, as the post of honor, was assigned to the Louisiana battal- 
ion of Colonel Walton. The corj)s of Longstreet held the left, 
and that of Jackson the right. Next the' river, upon the extreme 
left, was the division of Major-General Anderson, extending to 
the neighborhood of Marye's Hill. Then came that of M'Laws 
in the front line, supported by that of Ransom, in reserve. To 
the brigade of General T, R. Cobb, of Georgia, from M'Laws's 
division, was assigned the post of advanced guard, along the 
road and stone wall which has been described as skirting the 
base of that hill. Upon another, still more commanding height, 
in its rear, were planned other powerful batteries, designed to 
sweep the Federalists from its crest, should they succeed in gain- 
ing it. Next to M'Laws came the division of Pickett, occupying 
the edge of the highlands opposite to the widest part of the 
plain ; and next to him the division of Hood. On tlie right the 
country was less elevated ; it offered every way fewer difficulties 
to the enemy ; 'and it was flanked by the wide and smooth valley 
of the Massaponax, which was so favorableto the operations of his 
vast masses. Here, therefore. General Jackson strengthened him- 
self with a triple line of battle, to compensate for the weakness. 



JACKSON REVIEWS HIS LINE. 609 

of his ground. His front line was formed of two regiments 
of the brigade of Field, from the division of A. P. Hill, with 
the brigades of Archer, Lane and Pender. These stretched in 
the order named, from Hamilton's Crossing to the right of Hood. 
But they did not form a continuous line ; for the brigade of Lane 
in the centre was advanced two hundred yards to the front, to 
occupy a tongue of woodland which here projected itself fau into 
the plain. This patch of forest was low and marshy; and 
behind it, the ridge sunk almost into the same level ; so that no 
position for artillery could be obtained upon Jackson's centre. 
Behind the interval thus left between the brigades of Archer and 
Lane, was placed that of Gregg 5 and behind the space which 
separated the brigades of Lane and Pender, was that of Thomas. 
Thus the whole front was composed of the division of A. P. 
Hill. A second line was composed of the two divisions of Tal- 
iaferro and Early, the former behind Pender and Thomas, and 
the latter behind Gregg and Archer. The division of D. H. 
Hill was held as a reserve in the third line. All these troops 
were posted in the woods, which covered the base and the gentle 
acclivities of the hills, so that they were not disclosed to the 
view of the enemy. They formed a line of battle a mile and 
a half long. On General Jackson's right was Stuart with two 
brigades of cavalry, and his famous horse artillery, under the 
boy hero, Pelham, thrown forward toward the enemy's left flank 
in the plain. In front of Ai'cher, near Hamilton's Crossing, the 
range of hills which, behind Pender, had sunk almost into the 
plain, rises again to the altitude of forty feet ; with the open 
field extending to its summit. Here General Jackson placed 
fourteen picked guns from the artillery of A. P. Hill, under the 
command of Colonel Lindsay Walker. On the left of his line 
were posted thirty-three guns, from the batteries of Early and 
Taliaferro, twelve of them advanced into the plain beyond the 
77 



610 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

railroad track, and all on level gi'ound ; for the place offered no 
superior position for them. On the right, twelve more guns 
■were also advanced to assist the movements of Stuart, and to 
cross their fii-e with those of Colonel Walker. And Captain 
Hardaway from the division of D. H. Hill, was sent with his 
long Whitworth rifle, to the Highlands cast of the j\Iassaponax ; 
whence he enfiladed the Federal line of battle as it advanced 
from the river road. 

Having ordered these dispositions. General Jackson now rode 
along his whole front, to assure himself of their completeness, 
accompanied by several general officers and a brilliant Staff. 
As he appeared this morning upon his favorite battle steed, clad 
in a new and elegant suit of uniform, the gift of his friend, 
Stuart, and the old drab fatigue cap, which had so long been to 
his followers as glorious a guide to victory as the white plume 
of Harry of Navarre, replaced by the hat of a Lieutcnant-Gen- 
eral, resplendent with gold braid, he was scarcely recognized by 
his veterans. They saw not in this gallant cavalier, so instinct 
in his gait with martial elation, the sunburned " old Stonewall," 
to whom their eyes were accustomed upon the field of battle. 
As he passed along his lines, his suite was made the target of 
the Federal sharp-shooters. When he reached the tongue of 
woodland occupied by the brigade of Lane, he said ; " The 
enemy will attack here j" a prediction which a few hours fully 
verified. Thence he proceeded to the station of the Commander- 
in-Chief, upon a commanding hill near the Hazel overlooldug the 
whole plain, to receive his last suggestions. It was now past 
nine o'clock, and the sun, mounting up the eastern sky with 
almost a summer power, was rapidly exhaling the mist. As the 
white folds dissolved and rolled away, disclosing the whole plain 
to view, such a spectacle met the eyes of the Generals as the 
pomps of earth can seldom rival. Marshalled upon the vast 



THE BATTLE JOINED. 611 

arena beiaeath tlieni; stood the hundred and twenty-five thousand 
foes, with countless batteries of field guns blackening the ground. 
Long triple lines of infantry crossed the field from right to 
left, and hid their western extreme in the streets of the little 
city; while down the valleys descending from the Stafford 
heights to the bridges, were pouring, in vast avalanches of men, 
the huge reserves. For once, war unmasked its terrible propor- 
tions to the view, with a distinctness hitherto unknown in the 
forest-clad landscapes of America ; and the plam of Fredericks- 
burg presented a panorama that was dreadful in its grandeur. To 
the Confederate soldiers, the multitudinous hosts of their enemies 
appeared as though all the families of men had been assembled 
there, for the great assize of the Last Day ; but confident in 
their leaders, they beheld their numbers with steady courage. 
Not a cheek was blanched, nor a heart appalled. Lee stood 
upon his chosen hill of observation, inspiring every spectator 
by his calm heroism, with his two great Lieutenants beside him, 
and reviewed every quarter of the field with his glass. It was 
then that Longstreet, to whose sturdy breast the approach of bat- 
tle seemed to bring gaiety, said to Jackson : " General, do not 
all these multitudes of Federals frighten you ? " He replied ; 
" We shall sec very soon, whether I shall not frighten them." 
Such was the jest in ^«vhich the stern joy of battle in their spirits 
found utterance, while other hearts stood still with awe. They 
then separated to seek their several posts, and as the last 
remnants of the mist rolled away, the battle began, with a gen- 
eral cannonade. Three hundred guns now burst forth from the 
opposing heights ; hill answered to hill with their thunders, while 
the battle smoke rolling sullenly down their sides, again envel- 
oped the i^lain in a more dreadful pall than the morning fogs j 
and through the gloom, the fiery projectiles flew slmeking 
across in stunning confusion. Under the cover of this tempest, 



612 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON, 

Burnsidc advaiiced liis columns to the attack, at once, upon the 
right and upon the left. 

In the plain before him General Jackson saw the wing of 
Franklin, supported by a part of the grand division of Hooker, 
drawn out in three vast lines of battle, which he estimated at 
fifty-five thousand men. They were supported by numerous 
batteries, which advanced with them upon the plain. But as 
they passed the line of the river road, Pelliam dashed forward 
into the open fields with two chosen guns of his horse-artillery, 
and unlimbering upon their left flank, began to rake their massive 
line with a rapid and damaging fire. At this audacious diversion 
the Federalists paused, threw a division of infantry into crotchet 
at right angles to their mam line, so as to confront Pelham, and 
du-ected upon him the whole fire of four batteries, besides the 
distant heavy guns upon the Stafford Heights. But for a whole 
hour the two guns maintained the unequal duel, shifting their 
position upon the plain as fast as the enemy obtained their range 
accuratel}", disturbing the aim of their cannoneers by an occa- 
sional shot of deadly accuracy, and still pouring a rapid fire into 
the infantry. It was not until Pelham was recalled by positive 
orders, that he would surrender his hazardous position; and yet 
he brought off his command without serious loss. Such was the 
prelude to the tragedy upon Jackson's side ; and this splendid 
example, doubtless, did much to inspire the rest of the artillery 
with high determination. 

The Federalists, having been relieved of tliis antagonist, now 
advanced in earnest, feeling tlie whole forest, which enveloped 
Jackson's position, with a shower of cannon-shots. lie com- 
manded his batteries' to make no response. Apparently satisfied 
that the woods were not occupied by any heavy force, they now 
moved forward with confidence, but still covering their front 
with a storm of projectiles. When their lines of infantry had 



HIS INSENSIBILITY TO FEAU. " 613 

approached within eight himclred yards of Jackson's position, 
they at last awoke the response. The guns of Colonel Walker, 
upon the front of Archer, were thrust forward, and opened 
furiously upon the Federal uifantry, firing to their front and left, 
while Pelham, supported by the twelve guns of Jackson in front 
of his extreme right, again scourged them with a cross fire. The 
Federals paused, wavered, while visible gaps were made in their 
ranks by every discharge, and then broke and retreated to the 
river road. For two hours the struggle now degenerated into 
a desultory skirmish of sharpshooters. "While this lull in the 
tempest continued. General Jackson rode toward his extreme 
right, and dismounting, advanced on foot far into the plain, fol- 
lowed by no escort save a single aid. This , was Lieutenant 
James Power Smith, a young man of that class of which the 
Confederate army contained so many honorable members, who, 
though educated and well-connected, had served long and faith- 
fully as a private in the Poague battery. Jackson having noted 
his devotion and intelligence, with his wonted sagacity, selected 
him from the ranks, and promoted him to be his aide-de-camp, — a 
favor which, as will appear in the sequel, was requited by young 
Smith with a fidelity which deserves to link his name in enduring 
bonds with the memory of his patron. The General, followed 
by this zealous attendant, now walked far out into the fields,, to 
observe the dispositions of the enemy, when a sharp-shooter, sud- 
denly arising out of the tall weeds, at two hundred yards' dis- 
tance, levelled his rifle, and fired at him. The bullet hissed 
between the heads of the General and his aide, who were standing 
about two paces asunder. Thereupon he turned to him vfitli a 
sunny smile upon his face, and said, ^'' Mr Smith, had you not 
better go to the rear ? they may shoot you ! " The audacity of 
the sharp-shooter seemed to strike him as a pleasant jest ; but, 
insensible to fear for himself, his caution only concerned itself 



G14 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

for those committed to his care. After he had deliberately sat- 
isfied his cui'iositj, he returned to his lines, to a^ait another 
attack, which he knew was at hand. 

Having remained passive until past noon, the Federalists 
now moved their left again. Three lines of battle advanced to 
the charge, preceded by clouds of skii-mishers, and strengthened 
by ten batteries of field-guns upon the flanks. Agam they 
approached under a fui-ious cannonade, to which the batteries of 
Jackson made no response until their infantry was within point- 
blank range, when they replied with equal violence. But the 
Federal lines now advanced with determination, and, as General 
Jackson foresaw, directed their attack to the projecting point of 
woods occupied by Lane's brigade. They hoped to find here a 
lodgement, and a protection from the Confederate artillery ; for, 
when they came to close quarters, the oblique fire of the bat- 
teries on the right and left was necessarily suspended, to avoid 
overwhelming friend with foe, and the place occupied by Lane 
offered no position for cannon. Yet his sturdy infantry stood 
their ground for a time against triple odds, until the tlu'onging 
multitudes of enemies insinuated themselves into the gap between 
his right and the left of Archer, deployed rapidly in the woods, 
and attacked his flanlc and rear. Some of his men wheeled, and 
made front against the new advance of the Federalists upon 
their side ; a part of his line was broken and overwhelmed in 
the tangled woods, and the remainder retired upon its supports, 
fighting stubbornly; while the twelve guns which had been 
advanced upon his left, across the railroad track, were hurriedly 
withdrawn to avoid capture, suffering not a little from the Fede- 
ral sharp-shooters. The left of Archer's brigade met a like fate 
with Lane's. Findmg themselves taken in reverse, ihey broke 
and fled before overpowering numbers ; thus widening the gi-eat 
brcacli in the front line, tlu-ough which the Federal columns 



SECOND ATTACK OX JACKSON. 615 

poured into the woods. But Arclier still held fast to the right 
of his position with two or tlu'cc regiments, with a stubborn 
tenacity which contributed much to save the day; and at- 
tempted, with another regiment, to form a new front against the 
enemy's flank. 

But Jackson had provided many additional resources against 
this casualty. The triumphant irruption of the Federalists was 
first checked by the brigades of Thomas and Gregg, which 
covered the intervals of the front line. As the throng of enemies 
spread themselves from the breach in divergent columns, the one 
bearing most toward the Confederate right found itself suddenly 
confronted, at close quarters, by Gregg. His foremost regiment, 
mistaking them for friends, received a sudden volley, and was 
thrown into confusion. As their lion-hearted General, Gregg, 
rushed forward to reinstate his battle, he was shot down with a 
mortal wound. But Colonel Hamilton speedily rallied a part of 
his brigade, and made head against the enemy until other suc- 
cors could arrive. Another torrent of Federalists, du-ecting 
themselves along Lane's rear, and toward the Confederate left, 
was met by Thomas, and their efforts were partially contained. 
The battle had now passed within the range of the artillery, 
which suspended its fire ; but the struggle raged in a confused 
manner within the woods, and the fragments of the line of Hill 
and of his enemies were mixed in inextricable confusion. It was 
at this critical moment that General Jackson ordered up his 
•second line. But the Generals commanding it, anticipating 
his wishes with intelligent zeal, were about to rush into the 
wavering conflict, when they received his instructions. General 
Early, whose division covered all the right of A. P. Hill's broken 
line, threw the Georgia brigade of Lawton, commanded by Colo- 
nel Atkinson, directly forward ; and then moved the brigade of 
Walker by its left flank, at a double-quick, until it covered the 



616 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

yawning chasm upon Atkinson's left. The two now daslied for- 
ward upon the confased masses of tlie enemy, with such a yell as 
only the Confederate soldiers know how to give. Walker con- 
nected his left with the right of Thomas, of Hill's division, who 
was still showing an unbroken front; and the three brigades 
swept the intruders in a moment from the woods, and pursued 
them, with heavy carnage, across the railroad track, and far into 
the fields beyond. Ilcre, indeed, the enthusiasm of the Georgi- 
ans led them too far; for, rusliing several hundred 3-ards in 
advance of the railroad, they exposed their right to a whole 
division of Federal infantry, which fired into their flank, and 
forced them back to that embankment, capturing among their 
wounded the commanding Colonel and his Adjutant. 

But no sooner had General Early assisted in restoring the 
wavering fortunes of the centre, than he was entreated for suc- 
cors for the, fragment of the line of Archer, wliich was stagger- 
ing under the unequal pressure. He therefore advanced the 
brigade of Trimble, under Colonel Hoke, supported by Hays, 
upon the extreme right, relieved Archer, and driving the enemy 
across the railroad here also, established his men along that line. 
As soon as the enemy's infantry was sufiiciently disengaged from 
the woods on their retreat, the gallant Colonel Walker opened 
his guns upon them again, and before they reached the slielter of 
the river road, inflicted a severe punishment. While these 
events occurred on Jackson's right, the division of Taliaferro 
also advanced with the greatest enthusiasm, to support the front 
line upon his left. But so speedily was the irruption of the 
enemy repulsed, nothing remained for them to do, save that the 
2nd Virginia regiment, of the Stonewall Brigade, assisted in 
driving out the Federalists who had threatened the right of 
Thomas. 

The division of General Hood, also, upon General Jackson's 



HIS LINE ADVANCED. 617 

left, iustructed by Longstreet to lend a generous aid to their 
neighbors, had assisted with two or three regiments, to repulse a 
thi-eatening attack there. A large detaclunent of the enemy 
advancing up the chamiel of Deep Run, shielded from view, 
suddenly emerged in line of battle, and confronted the left of 
Pender's brigade, and the numerous batteries which he sup- 
ported. One of his regiments, assisted by those of ITood, 
immediately attacked them, and drove them back with great 
spirit. Especially did the 57th and 54th North Carolina, two 
new regiments of conscripts, which had never been under fire 
before, cover themselves with glory. They pursued the broken 
enemy, the 57th in front, across the railroad, and for a mile into' 
the plain, although scourged by a flank fire from the channel of 
the creek ; and it was not until repeated messengers had been 
sent to repress their ardor, that they were recalled. The gal- 
lant Hood said, that he verily thought the mad fellows would go 
to the Rappahannock in spite. of him and the enemy together. 
And as they returned, some were seen weeping with vexation, 
because they were dragged from the bleeding haunches of the 
foe, and exclaiming : " It is because he has not confidence in 
Carolinians. If we had been some of his Texans, he would 
have let us go on ! " But the men of Pender displayed equal 
merit, in enduring an ordeal of a diiferent nature. Their chief 
part was to sustain the numerous batteries with which General 
Jackson had guarded his left upon the open plain. Lying be- 
hind these guns, insulted by a cloud of skirmishers, and receiv- 
ing a large part of the projectiles aimed at the artillery, they 
patiently held their ground, unrelieved by the solace of active 
resistance, until the day was won. 

A new front line was now formed by the Confederates, com- 
posed of portions of the divisions of A. P. Hill and Early, with 
the- Stonewall Brigade, under General Paxton, along the railroad 

78 



G18 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JAOKSON. 

embankment in front of their former position. It began ncai' 
Hamilton's Crossing on tbc extreme right, and extending along 
the "wide curve with which that thoroughfare sweeps into the 
plain, confronted the enemy all the way to the position of Gen- 
eral Hood. The division of D. H. Hill, whose services had not 
been needed to complete the enemy's repulse, was now advanced 
to the second luie ; while the shattered portions of A. P. Hill's 
division were drawn to the third. The Federalists did not 
seriously renew, their attack upon General Jackson during the 
day; but kept a spiteful cannonade, under which he suffered 
oorne loss. In this battle, Franklin had almost equal advantages 
of ground, and double numbers. But such was the skill of 
Jackson and his assistants, and the superior prowess of the Con- 
federate soldiery, he was beaten, and driven hopelessly back to 
his starting place, before more than half of his antagonist's force 
had been displayed. He left about five himdi'cd prisoners, 
besides many wounded men, and five thousand muskets in Jack- 
son's gTasp, as trophies of his victory. 

"While this battle was raging with General Jackson's corps, 
events of equal magnitude were occurring upon the left, in front 
of Fredericksburg, which are detailed with less fulness, only be- 
cause the immediate subject of this narrative was unconnected 
with them. Here Burnside, with an almost insane policy, 
selected Marye's Hill as the point of pertinacious attack; a 
position which, in the hands of Confederate soldiers, was impreg- 
nable; and which, if captured, would have been found com- 
manded in tui"n by other positions of greater strength. But, 
endeavoring to silence the batteries of Colonel Walton upon its 
crest, by the tremendous fire of his heavy guns upon the Stafford 
Heights, he hurled brigade after brigade of Suumer's wing 
against it, throughout the day, with no other result than the piti- 
able slaughter of bis men. Sis times his fresh reserves were 



THE ATTACKS ON MARYE'S HILL. 619 

advanced to the attack. But Walton, disregarding the hurricane 
of shells from the opposing hills, reserved his fire for the dense 
lines of infantry ; and as soon as they emerged from the toTvu, 
and formed for the charge, shattered them with well directed, 
plunging volleys. The advanced line of Cobb, behind the stone 
fence at the base of the hill, supported by Ransom upon the face 
of the declivity, awaited the Federals whenever they advanced, 
with withering discharges of musketry. The narrow field before 
them was literally encumbered with corpses ] the gallant Cobb, 
statesman and orator, as well as soldier, was borne from his 
post, mortally wounded, assigning it to Kershaw ; but still the 
night closed upon the carnage, and the Confederates had not 
been dislodged from a single foot of the outworks of their posi- 
tion. The depressions of ground along the Hazel, in which the 
routed columns of the Federalists sought refuge from the scathing 
fires of Marye's Hill, were raked by the more distant batteries 
near General Lee's position upon the centre; and the frightened 
wretches found no refuge, save behind the dwellings of the town. 
There, also, they were only secure, because the Commander-in- 
Chief spared the city from bombardment,- in mercy to a few 
hundred of the inhabitants, who, he knew, had clung to their 
homes throughout these horrors. In a word, the Confederates 
at length had here, a position which was really strong, and 
which they had adequate forces to defend. It was such a posi- 
tion as they had been accustomed to wrest from Federalists in. 
previous battles. The consequence was, that the attempt to 
wrest it from them never approximated the first appearance of 
success, and resulted only in a frightful loss. 

On the right, the afternoon was wearing away without event, 
save that the contest of artillery was still actively sustained 
between Stuart and Colonel Walker, supported by some of the 
guns of Colonel Brown, and the Federalists. General Jackson 



G20 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

desired tliem to attack him again ia his position ; but when he 
perceived that they had learned too much wisdom by their chas- 
~ tisement, ho was desirous that the important juncture should not 
pass, without at least an attempt to turn their repulse into a 
defeat. He longed to try, whether by one grand advance, 
disregarding the iirc from the Stafford Hills, their shattered 
masses might not be routed from their liold along the river 
road, forced back upon the deep river, mowed down at the 
narrow approaches to their bridges, and hurled into the water. 
He thirsted for at least one victory, where the blood of his 
faithful men, and his own cares and toils, should be rewarded 
by grand results, like those of an Austerlitz or a Waterloo. 
But he know something of the double embankments of the 
river road, before him, and of the double numbers of the 
enemy's men and guns. He knew that while the Federal was 
no match in prowess for the Confederate soldier, yet he never 
permitted any advantage to fail him, which could be gained by 
adroit cunning or mechanical industry. He was well aware that 
it was no easy task for the inferior force to inflict an utter over- 
throw upon the superior, sustained by such resources, however 
the latter might be repelled, by a higher courage. As the sun 
declined toward the west, he was seen sitting upon his horse a 
long time, with his watch in his hand, considering the efloct of 
the cannonade with which Stuart was still plying the enemy's 
left, and counting the minutes until the sun should touch the 
horizon. After anxious hesitation, his resolve was formed ; he 
determined to make the essay, postponing it until the approach 
of night, in order that, if it were successful, the death grapple 
with the Federal infantry might be shielded from the fire of their 
protecting artillery by the darkness, and might be enhanced in 
its confusion and horrors ; or, if it were unsuccessful, the same 
friendly veil might assist liim in drawmg olf his forces without 



HIS UNFULFILLED PLAN. 621 

serious disaster. He therefore issued orders, that every gun, of 
wliatever calibre or range, which was not disabled, should be 
advanced to the front ] that, at sunset, they should move across 
the plain together, and open upon the enemy; that all the 
infantry should follow, in lines of battle, and that as soon as the 
Federal front showed signs of wavering under the cannonade, 
the whole should charge with fixed bayonets, and sweep the 
invaders into the river. The attempt was hurriedly made to 
effect these dispositions; a number of fresh batteries were 
advanced and opened upon the enemy ; and the first line, which 
the General had committed to the charge of Early, was just 
springing to its work, when he recalled his orders. He per- 
ceived that the concert between his different batteries of artillery 
was too imperfect to promise him success ; that his subordinates 
proceeded to the enterprise with doubtful determination ; and 
that the enemy covered his whole front with so terrible a fire 
from his countless artillery, that it tlu'eatened too great a loss of 
patriot Mood. He therefore, unwillingly relinquished the 
endeavor, and made his dispositions for the night, assigning the 
front to Early, and ordering all the troops to be relieved for a 
short time, by detaclmaents, that they might replenish their ammu- 
nition for the morrow. With this exception the whole army lay 
upon their weapons during the night, in the positions they had 
held during the day. 

The unfulfilled plan of General Jackson has not been related 
in order to impress the imagination of the reader with a picture 
which was, perhaps, impossible to be realized, of the horrors of 
Boteler's Ford, re-enacted on a grander scale, amidst the acces- 
sories of darkness and a stupendous confusion ; of murderous 
lines of Confederate bayonets rushing through the gloom, re- 
vealed to the affrighted invaders by the angry glare of the can- 
non alone ; of huddled masses of fugitives, mowed down by shot 



G22 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACICSON. 

and tlu'ust of invisible hands, and cngulplied in the black waters ; 
■while Jackson and his fierce subordinates urged on the carnival 
of death. The purpose is to prove, by a great and notable 
instance, that General Jackson's determination had none of that 
headstrong imprudence which has sometimes been imputed to 
him. He was capable of grand resolves ; no commander ever 
engaged his adversary with more of " the unconquerable will, and 
purpose never to submit or yield " than he ; but none was ever 
more careful of the blood of his men, or tempered his daring 
with greater wisdom. 

Thus ended the great battle of Fredericksburg, in which the 
Federalists confessed a loss of twelve thousand men killed and 
wounded, nine thousand small arms, and about a thousand pris- 
oners. In repelling the attacks of their vast army. General Lee 
had employed less than twenty-five thousand men, and had expe- 
rienced a loss of four thousand two hundred. Of these nearly 
twenty-nine hundred were killed and wounded in the corjjs of 
General Jackson ; and there were, in addition, five hundred and 
twenty-six ofiicers and men captured, chiefly from the division of 
A. P. Hill. That division also bore the heavier part of the loss 
in killed and wounded : a price which the brave are accustomed 
to pay for the post of honor. The batteries which were long 
engaged suffered much in this action, and especially those of 
Colonel Lindsay "Walker. Placed in a prominent position, from 
which there was no retreat, and made the target for a continual 
fire for many hoiu"s, they were often struck, and lost many men 
and horses. 

After all the necessary dispositions had been made for the 
night, General Jackson retired to his tent to seek a few hours' 
repose. There his friend. Colonel Boteler, awaited him, to wliom 
he offered a share of his pallet ; but long after the other had 
lain down, he continued to write and send despatches. At 



THE NIGHT AFTER THE BATTLE. G23 

length, near midnigiit, he lay down beside him, without removing 
any of his clothing, and slept for two or three hours ; when ]ie 
again arose, lighted his candle, and resumed his writing. But, 
observing that the rays fell full in the face of his friend, whom 
he supposed to be still asleep, he immediately procured a book, 
which ho so adjusted upon his table as to screen him from the 
light, that he might not disturb his slumbers. About four o'clock 
in the morning, he called to his faithful Jim for his horse : and, 
after a friendly altercation with hira, concerning his desire to 
ride the same one which had borne him through the battle of the 
previous day, in which Jim came off victorious, he rode away 
with a single aide. He had mounted thus early in order to 
redeem an hour before the day dawned, to pay a visit to the 
dying soldier, General Maxey Gregg. This heroic man had 
fallen the day before, shot through the body in the irruption of 
the enemy through the line of A. P. Hill, and now lay in a 
neighboring dwelling, drawing near to his last hour ; but still as 
calm as upon the field of battle, and as ready to render up his 
life a sacrifice for his country. General Jackson spent a few 
solemn moments by his couch, and bade adieu to him with tender 
sympathy. He then returned to the front, to meet the first 
dawn of day among his men, and to assure himself that they 
were prepared for the expected renewal of the assault. 

General Lee, on his part, had spent the night in diligent pre- 
parations for such an event. The enemy had been so easily 
repulsed by a fraction of the Confederate army, and still pos- 
sessed so enormous a superiority of numbers, that he could not 
believe Burnside would accept a final defeat on those terms. He 
therefore supposed that the attempt of Saturday was but the pre- 
lude to a more strenuous attack to be made on the Sabbath. He 
earnestly desired that the assault should be renewed; because 
the strength of his position assured him that it would only result 



624 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

in the furtlier destruction of the enemy. His troops were 
therefore all prepared with supplies of ammunition for another 
day of yet more tremendous battle ; and the weaker points of his 
line were strengthened with works hastilj^ thrown up during the 
r:ight. The morning disclosed the Federalists still drawn up 
upon the plain, in full array,. and showing a steady front; but 
the day wore away without any demonstration, save a continual 
skirmish of the sharp-shooters and artillery. In truth, Burnside 
purposed a renewal of the attack ; but his three Lieutenants, who 
seem to have assumed a practical independence of his will, 
remonstrated so boldly, and gave such representations of the 
demoralization of their troops, that he was compelled to relin- 
quish his design. The next subject for his consideration there- 
fore was, in what way he might best extricate himself from his 
perilous position. This was a problem which was not easy of 
solution ; for, to retreat across his narrow floating bridges, in 
the face of a watchful and victorious foe, was to invite destruc- 
tion. Ho therefore spent the day strengthening his position, 
especially before the front of the town, with hastily-dug trenches, 
and kept his outposts pressed close up to those of General Lee, 
as though preparing for further aggTCSsive movements. 

During the night of the 14th of December, General Jackson 
held his troops in the same lines, except that the division of 
D. n. Hill was placed in the front, and that of Early was re- 
lieved by retiring to a less exposed place. During Monday, the 
15th, a flag of truce was sent, requesting a few hours' truce 
between the Confederate right wing and the Federal left, in 
order that the latter might relieve their wounded, many of whom 
had now been lying upon the freezing ground two days and two 
nights. The note containing this request was signed by a Gen- 
eral of subordinate rank. At Sharpsburg, some of the Confed- 
erate Generals had granted a temporary truce upon a similar 



THE ENEJrr WITHDEAWS. G25 

application, wliicli had been afterwards disclaimed bj M'Clcllan. 
General Jackson therefore replied to this, that when authenti- 
cated by the General commanding the Federal army, the ap- 
plication would receive an answer. After a time, it was returned 
with the authority of Burnside, when the truce was promptly 
granted. In his front, grim-visaged war now smoothed its horrors 
for a few hours ,* and while the hospital attendants were busy 
in removing the dead and wounded, officers and men from the 
adverse ranks mingled together in familiar intercourse. 

The second day after the battle was now ended. The Con- 
federates were eager in their hopes that the enemy would attack 
again on the morrow, when an opportunity would be again found 
to avenge, upon the invaders of their homes, the barbarities which 
had marked the war. Such was the enthusiasm which reigned 
among them, the division of D. H. Hill, which should, in turn, 
have been relieved from the front on the 15th, sent a written 
request to General Jackson, to be allowed to remain there 
another night, in the hope that they might have the honor of 
receiving the enemy's fii'st attack the next morning. Their 
request was granted ; but with the morning came a grievous dis- 
appointment. The whole opposing army was gone, with all its 
appurtenances, and had removed its bridges, and resumed its 
post upon the Stafford heights. The weather had come to their 
assistance, in the shape of a storm of rain, accompanied with a 
tempestuous wind from the south, which, driving from the Con- 
federates toward the enemy, had effectually stifled the sound of 
every note of preparation for the march. Under cover of this 
wind and the Egyptian darkness, they had been busy all night, 
withdrawing their army and artillery over a number of bridges, 
while the numerous sentries close to the Confederate front kept 
up a bold show to the last. After all the rest had retired, these 
out-posts also were called in, their officers passing from man to 
79 



G26 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSOX. 

roan, and giving tlic order to fall back in a whisper. "With such 
industry and adroitness "was the retreat conducted, all the vast 
multitude, with its countless carriages, was withdrawn in one 
night, in the midst of intense darkness, and without the aid of 
even a lamp; for they feared to draw on themselves the fire 
of the Confederate cannon. When some of the citizens, who 
had remained shut up in their houses during the whole struggle, 
came with candles to their doors, to learn the cause of the 
strange, dull buzz which filled the air, they were startled to find 
the streets packed with dense columns of men, whose faces were 
all turned toward the river, and who instantly greeted their 
appearance with the stern wliisper, " Put out that liglit ! Put 
out that light ! " Some of the officers also sprung from the ranks, 
snatched the lights from their hands, extinguished them, and thrust 
the bearers back within doors. The movement was all accom- 
plished before the Confederate pickets learned anything. When 
the dull and dreary dawn began to steal over the ground, they 
perceived that the sentries who had confronted them were either 
gone or were motionless ; and upon approachmg the latter, they 
found that they were dead corpses, stiff and stark, which the 
Pcderals had propped up against stones or posts, placing 
muskets in their hands ! 

On re-entering the afflicted city, the Confederates discovered 
also, that the enemy had employed the leisure of the two days 
after the battle, in sackmg its dwellings from one end to the 
other. The only houses wliich escaped were those which, being 
occupied by wounded men, or by the quarters of general officers, 
were guarded by their sentries. Not only was every species of 
food and other portable property, which a soldier could desu'e, 
carried away, but the most ingenious and laborious destruction 
was wrought upon that which they did not need. Costly furni- 
ture and pianos were hewn to pieces with axes, the Avardrobea 



FEEDEEICKSBUEG SACKED. REMARKS. 627 

of ladies torn into shreds, mirrors precipitated upon the pave- 
ments, and the morocco-bound books of gentlemen's libraries 
carried in hampers to the river, and tumbled into the slime of 
the tides. But otherwise, the general aspect of the buildings 
gave singular proof of the difficulty of actually destroying a city 
by a bombardment. After all the tempest of projectiles by 
which it seemed the doomed city must be levelled with the 
ground, only a few houses were burned, and a few seriously 
broken down. In the others, the only signs of bombardment 
were a few small holes perforated in the walls and roofs by the 
shot, and a number of places, where glass and plastering had 
been broken by the explosions; while many buildings had 
almost miraculously escaped. 

In this retreat, the Federalists had every circumstance to 
favor the secrecy of their movements ; yet their success casts a 
reflection upon the watchfulness of the Confederates. It was 
true that the darlmess, the rain, and the tempestuous wind, were 
sufficient to hide all the movements of the fugitives from the 
sentries ; but surely, on all that extended front, there ought to 
have been some scouts adventurous and shrewd enough to pene- 
trate the enemy's lines, by some mode, and gather some data 
wliich would be decisive of their purpose to fight or flee. The 
Confederate commander was much disappointed by the result. 
Another imperfect victory had been added to the list of his 
exploits, in which the glory of a masterly strategy and heroic 
courage at the beginning, was overclouded by a partial forfeiture 
of the anticipated fruits of victory. His beaten enemy had 
again extricated himself from a situation, which promised a com- 
plete triumph and a speedy peace to the Confederacy. Doubt- 
less General Lee admitted in his own breast, that had he 
foreseen this escape of Burnside, he ought to have taken the 
aggressive against him during the two days of inaction, in some 



G28 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

way. But what that way should have been, it was still not so 
easy to determine. His advantage over Burnside in position 
and facility of attack, was after all more seeming than real. In 
fi'out of the Confederate right, the Federalists held fast to the 
two embankments of the river road, which they made almost im- 
pregnable with countless batteries, and double lines of infantry ; 
and where they were protected by the fii-e of their guns of long 
range from the north banli. If General Jackson would reach 
these lines, he must leave his position in the wooded hills, and 
advance into the plain, where every advantage passed from his 
side to that of his enemy. At Fredericksburg, the more con- 
tracted space brought cither party which took the aggressive 
immediately under a murderous fire from the opposing heights. 
If the Confederates advanced, they seemed to incur the same 
disadvantages which the Federalists had found so disastrous at 
^larye's Hill. 

But in one particular, General Jackson differed from his asso- 
ciates, in his estimate of the situation. lie did not consider the 
battle of the 13th of .December as a mere prelude to a greater 
struggle. He appreciated the full influence of the events of that 
day upon the army of Burnside, and was convinced that it was at 
the end of that day a beaten army, and would attempt nothing 
more on that ground. He did not expect a renewal of their as- 
saults the next morning, although his vigilance prompted to take 
every precaution against it. He saw clearly that it was for the 
Confederates to take the initiative next, or else the affair would 
continue incomplete. In this, he showed his customary sagacity, 
and that almost infallible insight into his adversary's condition 
and temper, which had guided him in previous campaigns. But 
his habitual modesty prevented liis obtrudmg his opinions ; and 
there is no certain evidence what plan of action he would have 
recommended. 



POSSIBLE MODE OF IMPROVIXG THE VICTORY. 629 

The handling of Captain Hardaway's Whitworth rifle during 
the 14th, upon the highlands east of the Massaponax, gave one 
indication, which deserved to be followed up. Mounting a straw- 
rick which stood upon a bold hill there, in range with the distant 
line of the river road, he stationed his gun beside it ; and glass 
in hand, directed a slow and accurate &e upon the enem3''3 
position. They could make no effective reply ; and with his one 
piece, he so enfiladed and raked that road as to compel them to 
remove their batteries to other ground. One of his shells was 
supposed to have slain the Federal General Bayard, near the 
centre- of the Federal army, and three miles distant. Now, had 
a strong detachment of Jackson's guns of longest range been 
likewise posted in the Highlands, during the 14th, their fire 
might so far have counterbalanced that of the Federal artillery, 
as to enable him, with the remainder of his corps, to overwhelm 
their left, without ruinous loss to himself, by a front and flank 
attack combined. But the most obvious expedient for completing 
the discomfiture of Burnside's army, was to concentrate powerful 
masses of artillery on all the hills commanding the city itself, 
and disregarding the reply from the Stafford Heights, to 
overwhelm the whole locality with a sustained cannonade. 
The drift of the Federal troops was continually toward the 
streets of the town, after the battle of Saturday j there were 
their most numerous bridges ; and thither the stragglers rushed 
for spoils. The streets and open spaces were doubtless so 
crowded with men during the whole occupation, that such a 
bombardment must have inflicted a bloody loss; and the 
approaches to all the bridges near the town being thus made 
impracticable, the sense of its insecurity might have plunged 
the whole army mto panic. Two motives held back the 
hands of the Confederates from this obvious experiment; 
the expectation of having a more urgent use for the ammunition, 



630 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACI^ON. 

to fight anotlicr general action in their chosen position; and 
compassion for two or three hundred citizens of tlie gallant 
town, who were supposed to be still clingmg to their ruined 
homes. 

The failure of this grand attempt of Burnside plunged the 
Federal Government and people into mortification and rage. 
For once, the disappointment was too bitter to be concealed ; 
and their anguish rendered them temporarily honest enough to 
forego their customary boastings. The butchery of their men, 
and the profound discouragement of the survivors, were fully 
avowed. The Federal ministry compelled poor Burnside to 
make himself the scape-goat for the fault, by assuming, in a pub- 
lished order, the whole responsibility of the movement. The 
blatant press now denounced their late favorite with an injustice 
equal to their former senseless adulation. And a Congressional 
Committee of inquiry visited the army, and gathered the evidence 
for complctmg liis disgrace. He was, after a little, removed 
from his command, and succeeded by his insubordinate and boast- 
ful Lieutenant, Hooker. His army was quietly withdrawn a 
few miles from the river, and cantoned in winter-quarters in the 
counties of Stafford and King George. 

It is believed that the reader, in reviewing the affair of Fred- 
ericksburg, will concur in the assertion with which the narrative 
began: that Burnside's plan was not ill-conceived. With the 
means which his Government placed at his disposal, the attempt 
to cross the Rappahannock at Fredericksburg, in the face of 
Lee's army, was feasible ; and since Burnside's masters dictated 
to him the necessity of marching on Richmond by some route, the 
essay which he chose, was proper for him to make. The only 
real obstacle was the Confederate army ; but that must be met 
somewhere ; and his Government and people were unanimous in 
asserting that he both could and must overthi'ow it in some way. 



THE BLUNDERS. 631 

The conception of Burnside, then, was good. His first fault was, 
that he did not estimate with practical wisdom the uncertainties 
and iDureau impotency of the administration ; so as to make sure 
of all the apparatus necessary for a prompt movement, such 
as pontoon trains, by his own personal superintendence. He 
began to move from Warrenton to his new base on the 13th 
of November. Two inarches should have brought him to Fred- 
ericksburg. The last of Longstreet's corps did not arrive until 
the 21st. With all his preparations duly anticipated, and with 
reasonably prompt movements, he should have crossed the river 
in force, and been master of the southern bank, before the Con- 
federates were in a condition to meet him. But the very odds 
>hich they found themselves compelled to bring against the 
Confederates, in order to cope with them, always rendered their 
army an unwieldy monster, too cumbrous for any one mind to 
comprehend or handle with precision. 

After the opportunity for a sudden surprise was thus lost, 
Burnside proceeded with skill and judgment in the disposition 
which he made of his superior artillery, and in the measures by 
which he forced the passage of the river. But then his blunders 
began again. Of these the greatest was the direct attempt to 
storm Marye's Hill, which was the very last point to which his 
efforts should have been directed. An attack upon the extreme 
of the Confederate left, or upon their centre, — anything would 
have been less reprehensible. But his opportunity was, in fact, 
only upon the right ; and all his real weight should have been 
thrown against Jackson. If he had moved promptly under the 
dense fog of the 12th of December, while as yet neither Early 
nor D. H. Hill were in position, he might have carried, by his 
infantry, positions which would have transferred the decisive bat- 
tle to the interior of Spottsylvania, or to the North Anna. Or 
else, if he had employed that day in bridging the Massaponax 



632 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

near its mouth, and in opening ways for his vast artillery force 
near the eastern highlands ; if he had made all his operations 
nearer Fredericksburg, on the 13th, a feint, and instead of allow- 
ing a large part of Hooker's grand division to hang as a useless 
reserve about the Stafford heights until the day was practically 
lost, had pressed forward the whole of it to support Franklin, 
and had thus moved yi force upon both sides of the Massaponax, 
he might have reasonably promised himself a successful issue. It 
was manifest that the railroad from Fredericksburg to Richmond 
must be the essential part of General Lee's line of operations. 
But the direction of that thoroughfare down the valley of the 
Rappahannock, Indicated that Burnside should advance only by 
his left ; besides that, the country on his left flank was every 
way the more favorable to him. There is no boast iu saying, that 
if it had been Jackson, with the Confederate army, who had 
seized the northern edge of the plateau of Fredericksburg, and 
Burnside who stood on the defensive upon the Spottsylvania hills, 
the former would have been as sure of occupying enough of the 
hills of the Massaponax to turn the position of the latter success- 
fully, as the sun of the 13th rose upon the two armies. 

It was manifest that the retreat of Burnside was the end of 
the campaign for the winter. The army of General Lee there- 
fore proceeded to construct its winter-quarters in the wooded 
country behind the Rappahannock, the corjps of General Jackson 
stretching from the neighborhood of Guinea's Station toward 
Port Royal. Very soon the men were comfortably housed in 
huts of their own construction, and settled "down into the mono- 
tonous routine of the cantonment. General Jackson, after a few 
days' hesitation, established his head-quarters at Moss Neck, the 
hospitable mansion of Mr. Corbin, midway between Fredericks- 
burg and Port Royal, and near the centre of his troops. Dc- 
cUning the offer of rooms in the commodious dwelling, lest ho 



JACKSON AT MOSS NECK. 633 

should unavoidably trespass upon the convenience of its inmates, 
he accepted the use of a sporting-lodge at the edge of the lawn 
for his lodgings. In the upper room of this cottage his pallet was 
spread ; and the lower, still ornamented with the prints and tro- 
phies of the chase appropriate to its former uses, was occupied 
as his office. A large tent, erected near by, supplied the place of 
a dining-room for his mess. With these humble arrangements 
he addressed himself diligently to the improvement of his com- 
mand, and the preparation of his ofiicial reports, to which the 
bustle of the extraordmary campaign just closed had forbidden 
his giving attention before. While the troops were steadily 
engaged in the construction of their winter-quarters, of roads to 
the stations whence they drew their supplies through the rail- 
road, and of an elaborate line of entrenchments, which covered 
the whole country from Fredericksburg to Port Royal, he set 
himself busily to bring up this arrear of office-work. In the com- 
position of the reports of his battles his reverence for. truth and 
justice was conspicuous. The facts were laboriously examined 
by him ; and then every sentence of his narrative was reviewed 
and scanned with most anxious care, that all might be true to 
the reality. The language of exaggeration was jealously avoided, 
nor did he descend to rhetorical portraiture : all was the severe 
simplicity of history. Yet these reports are models of perspi- 
cuity, of transparent plainness, and of true graphic power ; and 
the literary man of true taste will esteem them as excellent 
specimens of narrative. ' This labor was continued, at intervals, 
throughout the winter; and was just completed when the ad- 
vance of Hooker, in the following spring, summoned him to that 
crowning exploit, of which his death left the narration in other 
hands. 

His attention was now addressed to an evil which had always 
been grievous in the Confederate armies, — absence from the 

80 



G3-i LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

ranks without leave. Employing Lis friend, the Hon. Mr. Bote- 
Icr, as liis advocate in Congress, he urgently called the attention 
of the Committee on Military Affairs to this abuse. He declared 
that if it could be corrected CA'cn approximately, and the larger 
part of the absentees could be recalled to the ranks, the army 
would be so increased that, with the Divine blessing, one more 
campaign would sweep the enemy from the soil of the Confede- 
rate States. One of his brigades reported twelve hundred 
absentees ! He proposed a novel plan, in which he expressed 
great confidence, for abating the nuisance. This was, to offer a 
pecuniary reward for the apprehension and delivery of all men 
reported as absent without leave, to be paid at first by the Gov- 
ernment, but afterwards re-imbursed from the pay of the delin- 
quent. To carry out this conception, he proposed that it should 
be embodied substantially in the following form : — 

"Suppose, for instance, that a brigade-commander makes an 
arrangement with persons not liable to military duty, to arrest 
and deliver his absentees ; and that he requires each company- 
commander, as soon as he knows that one of his men is absent 
without leave, to send up to brigade-headquarters a certificate of 
the fact ; and the brigade-commander sends the certificate to one 
of the persons with whom he has previously agreed to arrest and 
bring back his absentees ; and that wJiencvcr the dclinqicent and 
certificate shall he delivered to the commanding officer of a military 
post or camjy, siich commanding officer gives a receipt for the same ; 
and upon the presentation of siich receipt to the Quartermaster of 
the post or camp, he pays the reward, — say, fifteen dollars. In 
order to indemnify the Government, let the commanding officer 
of the post or camp not only send to the company-commander 
the man, but also a notification that a receipt lias been given for 
bis delivery, in order that the company-commander may enter 



HE DECLINES A FURLOUGH. 635 

the reward opposite the man's name on the muster and pay-roll, 
so as to have it stopped from his pay." 

This proposal was never submitted to the test of experiment. 
General Jackson at least endeavored to set a wholesome example 
of the duty of adherence to the service. He had never had a 
day of furlough. When invited by a friend to allow himself a 
little respite for a visit at his house, where he might meet his 
wife and tlie infant daughter which he had never seen, he replied 
expressing the delight which such a vacation would give him ; 
but firmly declining the proposal. A characteristic letter to Mrs. 
Jackson-may be introduced here, illustrating this matter. 

"Chkistmas, 1862. 

" I do earnestly pray for peace. Oh that our country wa's 
such a Christian, God-fearing people as it should be ! Then 
might we very speedily look for peace. 

" It appears to me, that it is better for me to remain with my 
command so long as tlie war continues, if our ever gracious 
Heavenly Father permits. The army suffers immensely by 
absentees. If all our troops, officers and men, were at their 
posts, we might, through God's blessing, expect a more speedy 
termination of the war. The temporal affairs of some arc so 
deranged as to make a strong plea for their returning homo for 
a short time ', but ou?- God has greatly blessed me and mine 
during my absence ; and whilst it would be a great comfort to 
see you, and our darling little daughter, and others in whom I 
take special interest, yet duty appears to require me to remain 
with my command. It is important that those at head-quarters 
set an example by remaining at the post of duty. 

"Dr. writes, 'our little prayer meeting is still meeting 

daily, to pray for our army and leaders.' This prayer meeting 
may be the means of accomplishing more than an army. I wish 



G36 LIFE. OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

that such existed everywhere. Ho-w it does cheer my heart, to 
hear of God's people praying for our cause, and for me 1 I 
greatly prize the prayers of the pious." 

The new year brought him the sad news of the re-occupation 
of Winchester by the Federal army. His friends there were now 
subjected to the tyranny and outrages of the Federal General Mil- 
roy. Under his rule, the most vexatious and cruel restrictions 
were placed upon the people ; and the plunder of their dwellings 
was shamelessly transferred to the private baggage of the Com- 
mander. Nothing which could characterize the baseness of a 
petty despot, was lacking to the history of this man ; and when, 
after the fall of General Jackson, Winchester was recaptured 
By his corps under General Ewell, Mih-oy crowned his infamy by 
rmming away from his command through by-roads, leaving them 
without a leader in the clutches of the avenging patriots. The 
story of the wroiij^s of the people now stu-red the depths of 
Jackson's heart. His estimate of the value of the district to 
the Confederacy was revived by his grief and indignation, and 
he exerted all his influence with the Commander-in-Chief, to have 
an army sent for its deliverance. His constant judgment was 
still, that a force stationed in the lower Valley, and subsisted 
from the resources of the country, would render a service more 
efficient than the same numbers could render elsewhere, by pre- 
serving the riches of the country to the Confedcrac}'-, and by 
making a threatening diversion, which would embarrass any 
invasion of northern Virginia. He declared that the countr}- 
would still sustain twenty thousand men, who should be sent 
there under an energetic leader, and he proposed General Early 
for the post. But General Lcc did not deem that he had men 
to spare for the detachment ; although the difficulty of provision- 
ing his army in Spottsylvania did induce him, later in the season, 



JACKSON IN QUARTERS. 637 

to send General Longstrcet, with a part of liis corps, to sontli- 
eastern Vii'ginia ; where they were detamed until after the battle 
of Chancellorsville, without other result than some successful 
foraging. 

While General Jackson was himself the commander in the 
Yalley District, his modesty and disinterestedness had prevented 
his asking for larger powers, although he had felt, in the cam- 
paign of 1862, the cruel inconvenience of his subordination to a 
distant commander, who was necessarily ignorant of much which 
should guide his action there. But now, in asking that another 
should command there, he urged that the country should be ele- 
vated to an independent Military Department, with its own Gen- 
eral, who should receive his orders directly from the supreme 
power. He strenuously declared that he did not desire to be 
again detached for that service, but every way preferred a subor- 
dinate command, near General Lee's person. 

Indeed, it was manifest that his happiness was greatly in- 
creased by the removal of the load of separate responsibility, 
and administrative caires, which his present position gained for 
him. His companions in arms noted in him a considerable and 
pleasing change. The brow of care was more frequently re- 
laxed ; his warm social impulses were more freely indulged ; and 
his meals, which had been usually despatched in haste and silence, 
became now seasons of cheerful relaxation, in which he was a 
quiet and unobtrusive, but joyous participant. Especially did he 
unbend, when visited after the hours of business, by his valued 
comrade in arms, General Stuart. In patriotism, in zeal for 
duty, in daring courage, and in military enterprise, these two 
men were kindred and sympathetic spirits ; but in temperament, 
Stuart's exuberant cheerfulness and humor seemed to be the 
happy relief, as they were the opposites to Jackson's serious and 
diffident temper. To Jackson himself, it was a pleasure to have 



638 LIFE OP IJEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

his soljricty tlia\7ed by the gay laugh and jest of the great 
cavalier ; while his occasional visits to the mess -were the signals 
of high fun to the young men of the Staff. While Stuart poured 
out his " quips and cranks," not seldom at Jackson's expense, the 
latter sat by, sometimes unprepared with any repartee, sometimes 
blushing, but always enjoying the jest with a quiet and sunny 
laugh. The ornaments which the former proprietor of Moss 
Neck had left upon the walls of the General's quarters, gave 
Stuart many a topic for badinage. Affecting to believe that 
they were of General Jackson's selection, he pointed now to the 
portrait of some famous racer, and now to the print of some dog, 
celebrated for his hunting feats, as queer revelations of the 
private tastes of the great Presbyterian. lie, with a quiet smile, 
only replied, that perhaps he had, in his youth, had more to do 
with race-horses than his friends suspected. lie referred to liis 
school-boy days at the forest home of his uncle, Cummings Jack- 
son. It was in the midst of such a scene as this, one day, that 
dinner was announced; and the two Generals passed to the 
mess-table. It so happened that Jackson had just received, as a 
present from a patriotic lady, some butter, upon the adornment 
of which the fair donor had exhausted her housewife's skill, and 
that the print impressed upon its surface was a gallant cock. 
The servants, in honor of General Stuart's presence, had chosen 
this to grace the centre of the board. As his eye fell upon it, he 
paused, and with mock gravity, pointed to it, saying : '•' Sec there, 
gentlemen ! If there is not the crowning evidence of our host's 
sporting tastes. lie even puts his favorite game-cock upon his 
butter ! " The dinner of course began with inextiuguishablc 
laughter, in which General Jackson joined with as much enjoy- 
ment as any. 

His fame had now become world-wide ; and while he attracto<l 
the entluisiastic admiration of his countrymen, strangers from 



LITTLE JANE CORBIN". 639 

Europe made pilgrimages to the army to gain a view of tlie 
great soldier. They foimd him, not the Uzarre and austere hero 
he had been described by popular fancy, but the modest, courte- 
ous gentleman, -who offered the scanty hospitality of his quarters, 
and cared for their comfort with an almost feminine tenderness. 
His domestic tastes soon began to seek their solace among the 
children of the family near by ; and he selected one, a sweet gud 
of six years, Jane Corbin, as his especial favorite. He requested 
of her mother that she should visit him every afternoon, after the 
labors of the day were finished ; and he always provided him- 
self with ■ some present, suitable for her child's taste, which he 
laid away in his drawer : an apple, an orange, a bundle of candy, 
or a gay print. Sometimes the interview was passed with his 
little friend sitting upon his knee, engaged in eager converse ; 
while at others, the noises which proceeded from the office showed' 
that they were indulging in a good, hearty romp together. One 
evening, when she came, he had no gift for her. At the close of 
their play, his eye fell upon a new cap, which Mrs. Jackson had 
lately sent him, which was far plainer than that appropriate to a 
Lieutenant-General : but which still was encircled with one band 
of broad gold braid. Taking his penknife, he ripped this off, 
and saying to the child, " This shall be your coronet," fastened it 
with his own hand around her fair locks ; and then stood con- 
templating her with delight. A letter to his wife contains the 
following reference to it : 

" I became so much ashamed of the broad gold lace that was 
on the cap you sent me, as to induce me to take it off. I like 
simplicity." This gift, the reader will say, Jane Corbin doubt- 
less preserved with jealous care, to be the most cherished orna- 
ment of her womanhood. Alas ! no. The sweet child was 
destined to precede her hero-friend to that world where they 
both wear a purer crown; and the sad mother, now also a 



G-iO LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

soldier's widow, guards it as the memorial of her bereavement. 
The very day General Jackson left Moss Neck to prepare for 
the spring campaign, little Jane was seized with that fearful 
scourge of the innocents, scarlet fever, and expired after a sick- 
ness of a day. The General felt her loss with a pungent grief; 
but the sterner cares of the army forbade his expending time in 
the indulgence of sorrow. lie left his quarters for the last time, 
cumbered with the thousand wants of his great command, while 
the child lay dying. His sympathy with the bereaved parents 
was also quickened by his own parental anxieties. It was about 
this time that his letters brought him news that his own infant 
daughter, whose face he had never seen, was ill with a threatening 
disease. He stated the accounts of its symptoms to his friend, Dr. 
M'Guire, in whose medical wisdom he so confided, and asked his 
advice, that he might write it to his wife. As he closed his 
inquiries, he said, with a voice quivering with emotion, " I do 
wish that dear child, if it is God's will, to be spared to us." 
This prayer was answered ; and the witnessing of its smiles was 
the last earthly joy wliich was assigned to him, as he finished his 
course. 

The winter at Moss Neck was also marked by a farther 
increase of General Jackson's spirituality and Chi-istian activity. 
Like the planet approaching its central sun, his soul moved with 
accelerated speed toward the Sun of righteousness. As he drew 
nearer to the centre of his divine attraction, his spiritual joy 
became yet more abundant. While his modesty was undimin- 
ished, his plans of exertion for the Church of God became more 
bold and comprehensive. His enjoyment of the Sabbath Day 
became higher than ever; and every source of happiness was 
traced up more gi'atefully to the heavenly Giver. A few extracts 
from his letters to his wife are introduced here, evincing- the 
glowing piety of his affections : — 



CORRESPONDENCE. . 641 

"Our ever gracious heavenly Father is exceedingly kind -to 
me, and strikingly manifests it by the kindness with which JBe 
disposes people to treat me." (Then mentioning a nun^ber 
of presents.) "And so God, my exceeding great Joy, is coiitin- 
ually showering His blessings upon' me, an unworthy creatnre. 

"I hope to have the- privilege of joinmg in prayer for pc/ace at 
the time you name, and hope that all our Christian people will ; 
but peace should not be the chief object of prayer in our ijountry. 
It should aim more specially at imploring God's forgiveness of 
our sins, and praying that He will make our people a holy people. 
Tf we are but his, all things shall work together for ijie good of 
our country, and no good thing will He withhold from it." .... 
" If I know my unworthy self, my desire is to live entirely and 
unreservedly to God's glory. Pray that I may so live." 

January 17tli, 1863. "I derive an additional pleasure in 
reading a letter, resulting from a conviction that it has not been 
travelling on the Sabbath. How delightful will bo our heavenly 
home, where everything is sanctified ! " 

January 22nd. " I regret to see our Winchester friends again 
in the hands of the enemy. I trust that, in anfiwer to prayer, 
our country will soon be blessed with peace. If we were only 
that obedient people that we should be, I should, with increased 
confidence, look for a speedy termination of hostilities. Let us 
pray more, and live more to the glory of God." 

" Our heavenly Father is contmually blessing me with presents. 
He withholds no good thing from me. I desire to be more thank- 
ful, and trust that through His blessing I shaD grow in grace." 

February 3d. "I trust, that in answer to the prayers of 
God's iieo])le, He will* soon give us peace. I haven't seen my 
wife for nearly a year, and ray home for nearly two years ; and 
I never have seen my sweet little daughter." . . . . " My old 
brigade has built a log church; as yet I have not been in it. I 

81 



G42 • LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

am much interested in reading Hunter's ' Life of Moses,' It is 
a delightful book, and I feel more improved in reading it than 
by an ordinary sermon. I am thankful to say that my Sabbaths 
are passed more in meditation than formerly. Time thus spent 
is genuine enjoyment." 

Writing of some presents from London, he says : " Our ever 
kind heavenly Father gives me friends among strangers. He is 
the source of every blessing, and I desire to be more grateful to 
Him." -^ 

" To-mok-ow is the Sabbath. My Sabbaths are looked for- 
ward to witU pleasure. I don't know that I ever enjoyed Sab- 
baths as I do this whiter. I do hope, trust, and pray, that our 
people will religiously observe the 27th day of next month as a 
day of humiliation, prayer, and fasting, as the President has 
designated in Ids proclamation." 

General Jackson, hoping, in common with many of his fellow- 
citizens, that the victories which God had vouchsafed to the Confed- 
erate 'arms in the year 1862, would convince the Federal people 
of the wickedness and unreasonable nature of their war, indulged 
some expectation that peace was not far off. It was his earnest de- 
sire, that when the people of the Confederate States then proceeded 
to adjust the working of their institutions, they should recognize 
the rights of Godl more distinctly, and that the Christian Church 
should put forth liiore saving power in society. One subject of 
his pious solicituda was, the laws of Congress which required the 
carrying and opening of the mails on the Sabbath ; thus, not only 
permitting, but exaipting, of a class of the citizens, the profaning 
of the day by secular labor. He had ever been accustomed to 
cherish a peculiar reverence for the Sabbath Day; and hearing 
tliat the propriety of this anti-Christian legislation was discussed 
in Congress, he exerted every lawful influence to bring about its 
repeal. To his frientl, Hon. Mr. Boteler, he wrote as follows : — 



HIS LETTER& .AGAINST SABBATH MAILS. 643 

"December 10, 1862. 
'• My Dear Colonel : 

" I have read with great interest the Congressional Report of 
the Committee, recommending the repeal of the law requiring 
the mails to be carried on the Sabbath ; and I hope that you will 
feel it a duty, as well as a pleasure, to urge its repeal. I do not 
see how a nation that thus arrays itself, by such a law, against 
God's holy day, can expect to escape His wrath. The punish- 
ment of national sins must be confined to this world, as there are 
no nationalities beyond the grave. For fifteen years I have 
refused to mail letters on Sunday, or to take them out of the 
office on that day, except since I came into the field ; and, so far 
from having to regret my course, it has been a source of true 
enjoyment. I have never sustained loss in observing what God 
enjoins ; and I am well satisfied that the law should be repealed 
at the earliest practicable moment. My rule is, to let the Sab- 
bath mails remain unopened, unless they contain a despatch ; but 
despatches are generally sent by couriers or telegraph, or some 
special messenger. I do not recollect a single instance of any 
special despatch having reached me, since the commencement of 
the war, by the mails. 

" If you desire the repeal of the law, I trust you wiU bring all 
your influence to bear in its accomplishment. Now is the time, 
it appears to me, to efiect so desirable an object. I understand 
that not only our President, but also most of his Cabinet, and a 
majority of our Congressmen, are professing Christians. God 
has greatly blessed us, and I trust He will make us that people 
whose God is the Lord. Let us look to God for an illustration 
in our liistory, that ' righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a 
reproach to any people.' .... 

" Yery truly, your friend, 

"T. J. Jackson." 



644 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

Similar letters were also written to others, engaging their 
assistance to further the repeal of the law. To his friend, Colo- 
nel Preston, of Lexington, an elder of his church, he wrote to the 
same effect, seeking to enlist his pen ; and afterward to secure, 
through him, the weight of the General Asscmby of the Presby- 
terian Church, at its approaching meeting. To Colonel Preston 
lie wrote thus : — 

" I greatly desire to see peace, — blessed peace. And I am 
persuaded, that if God's people throughout our Confederacy will 
earnestly and perseveringly unite in imploring His interposition 
for peace, we may expect it. Let our Government acknowledge 
the God of the Bible as its God, and we may expect soon to be 
a happy and independent people. It appears to me that ex- 
tremes are to be avoided ; and it also appears to me that the old 
United States occupied an extreme position in the means it took 
to prevent the union of Church and State. We call ourselves a 
Christian people ; and it seems to me that our Government may 
be of the same character, without connecting itself with an estab- 
lished Church. It does appear to me that as our President, our 
Congress, and our people have thanked God for victories, and 
prayed to Him for additional ones, and He has answered such 
prayers, and gives us a Government, it is gross ingratitude not 
to acknowledge Him in the gift. Let the framework of our Gov- 
ernment show that we are not ungrateful to Him." 

But the great work which most engrossed his heart was the 
spiritual improvement of the army, and especially of his corjjs. 
His soul had rejoiced, with unspeakable gladness, at the incipient 
showers of Divine grace which began to descend during the 
autumn. He had from tlie first lamented the destitutions of the 
army, where more than half the regiments were without chap- 
lains, and the inefficiency of those who were present. He saw 
them laboring without plan and concert, and therefore witliout 



LETTER ON" CHAPLAINS' LABORS. 645 

efficiency. He saw them leaving their charges in the midst of 
hardships and dangers, upon unnecessary grounds ; thus uncon- 
sciously fostering the feeling of the unbelieving many, that the 
spiritual officer was less essential to the regiment than the secu- 
lar ', and so, inviting indifference to their labors when they were 
present. He was accustomed to say, that if an ecclesiastical 
organization and control for clergymen had been found necessary 
in civil life, they should equally be applied to these military pas- 
tors ; and, again, that it was as reasonable that they should be 
held to their duties by a due subordination, as surgeons or 
captains. It had long been his desire to have some impulse 
communicated to their labors ', and he now made the following 
suggestions to the Rev. Dr.* White : — 

" Cakoline County, Vieginia, March 9th, 1863. 
"My Deak Pastor: 

" Your letter of the 5th inst., was handed me yesterday. I 
am much obliged to you for it, and thankful to God and yourself 
for the deep interest you take in the army. I feel that, if you 
were a young man, you would delight to labor in the army. 
Though your health will not admit of such constant labor, yet I 
trust that you will find it convenient to come and preach a few 
sermons. I do not feel that I can adequately express by letter, 
the inducements that exist for Clu'istian labor among our troops. 
If jou could come and spend a few days, and see for yourself, 
T Itelieve that good would be accomplished, not only by your 
labors here, but by the impressions which you would carry 
away. 

" When I wrote the letter to Colonel Preston, which he showed 
you, I had given up the idea that the Rev. B. T. Lacy would 
return." (The letter here referred to had authorized and 
requested Colonel Preston to invite the Rev. Dr. Palmer, an 
eminent minister recently driven from his pulpit in New Orleans, 



646 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

by the enemy, to come to liis liead-quarters, and labor as a 
missionary in his corps; promising to make a contribution of 
five hundred dollars per year to his support out of liis private 
purse.) '' lie had visited me soon after my arrival here; and I 
desired him to labor in my army corps, and expected him to 
return in about a week : though not necessarily to accept a prop- 
osition which I had made him : For he told me that, as he was in 
charge of a congregation, he could not decide what his course 
would be, until he should see more respecting his charge. 
Shortly after my writing to Colonel Preston, Mr. Lacy returned ; 
and I hope that through God's blessing, his labors will be with 
the army until the war terminates 

'• Whilst I hope to have Mr. L. in my corps, yet if you think 
that our church, in making a proper distribution of her minis- 
terial talent and piety, can send to my corps another of her gifted 
sons, I will be greatly gratified, and will contribute to his sup- 
port as promised in my letter to Colonel Preston. And I should 
like very much to have Dr. Palmer, judging from what I have 
heard of him. But I do not wish to make invidious distinctiony. 
My desire is to sec just such a distribution of labors as will 
most promote the glory of God 

" You suggest that I give my views and wishes in such form 
and extent as I am willing should be made public. This I shrink 
from doing, because it looks like presumption in me, to come 
before the public and even intimate what course I think should 
be pursued by the people of God. I have had so little experi- 
ence in church matters, as to make it very proper, it appears to 
me, to keep quite beyond the expression of my views to friends. 
Whilst I feel that this is the proper course for me to pursue, and 
the one which is congenial to my feelings, yet if you and Colonel 
Preston, after prayerful consultation, arc of opinion that my 
name, in connexion with my wishes, will be the means of doing 



HIS PLAN OP ORGANIZATION. 647 

good, I do not desire any sensibility that I may have to be a 
draw-back in the way of doing good. I desire myself and all 
that I have to be dedicated to the service of God. So averse 
am I to appearing as though I would like to attempt in any way 
publicly to suggest what, in my opinion, the church should do, 
that I do not feel justified in consenting to my name being used 
as you have suggested, except after prayerful consultation 
between yourself and Colonel Preston. I take the liberty of 
wi'iting to you and him my views : both of you have had large 
experience in the church, — you have both been known to the 
church -for years, and after maturely considering what I wi'ite, 
yoic can with propriety publish, should you think best, any thing 
that I may have said wiiliout saying that such loas my view. 

" My views are summed up in a few words, which are these : 
Each Christian branch of the church should send into the army 
some of its most prominent ministers, who are distinguished for 
their piety, talents, and zeal ; and such ministers should labor 
to produce concert of action among chaplains and Christians in 
the army. These ministers should give special attention to 
preaching to regiments which are without chaplains, and induce 
them to take steps to get chaplains, to let the regiments name 
the denomination from which they desire chaplains selected ; and 
then to see that suitable chaplains are secured. A bad selec- 
tion of a chaplain may prove a curse instead of a blessing. If 
the few prominent ministers thus connected with each army would 
cordially co-operate, I believe that glorious fruits would be the 
result. Denominational distinctions should be kept out of view, 
and not touched upon ; and as a general rule, I do not think that a 
chaplain who would preach denominational sermons, should be in 
the army. His congregation is his regiment, and it is composed 
of persons of various denominations. I would like to see no 
question asked in the army, as to what denomination a chaplain 



648 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

belongs; but let the question be, does he preach the Gospel? 
The neglect of spiritual interests in the army may be partially 
seen in the fact that not half of my regiments haye chaplains." 

On the first of March, Rev. Mr. Lacy, a minister of the Pres- 
byterian church, came, on General Jackson's invitation, to his 
head-quarters, to begin the species of labors described in the 
above letter. The Government, after a time, commissioned him 
as an army chaplain, without assigning him to a particular regi- 
ment ; an exceptional act of courtesy accorded to General Jack- 
son's high character and express request. In his letter to his 
other friends, he had modestly expressed his inexperience of 
ecclesiastical aifairs, and his intention to commit the details 
of the plan of evangelical labors in the army to the advice of the 
clergyman, after Mr. Lacy had examined his ground. But the 
scheme adopted was that which the General had entertained in 
his own mind in the beginning of the campaign of 1862, and 
which, indeed, he liad then attempted to effect. The exacting 
nature of the campaign, and the failure to enjoy at that time the 
assistance upon which he relied for its execution, had caused its 
postponement. But it was his design, which was now in substance 
resumed. His objects were three : to supply regiments destitute 
of chaplains with a partial substitute in the shape of the itinerant 
labors of efficient ministers ; to supply a channel of intercourse 
between the army and the bodies of clergy of different denomina- 
tions, through which the latter might learn the wants of the former, 
and to give to the labors of the chaplains and other ministers in 
the army, the unity and impulse of an ecclesiastical organization 
within their own peculiar field. His chaplain was intended by 
hun to be an exemplar, who, he hoped, would be followed by many 
others from among the most efficient preachers of all churches, 
until they should be brought into vital sympathy with the army. 



THE CAMP CHAFELS. 649 

One of the measures adopted was the preaching of the gospel at 
the head-quarters of General Jackson, and under his immediate 
countenance, every Sabbath, while the troops were in their 
camps. For this end, a place in the open field was prepared, 
near Hamilton's crossing, (to which General Jackson removed 
his quarters soon after,) with rude seats and a temporary pulpit, 
where public warship was held in the open air. The example 
of so famous a warrior, always potent among soldiers when sus- 
tained by official rank, the curiosity to see him and the galaxy of 
celebrities who came to worship with him, the eloquence of the 
preachers, and the purer motives which the great religious 
awakening now began to propagate far and wide, soon drew a 
vast congregation to this spot on the Sabbath days. From hun- 
dreds it grew to thousands, until the assemblage surrounded the 
preacher in a compact mass, as far as his voice could bo dis- 
tinctly heard. Here, on a bright Sabbath in the spring, might 
be seen the stately head of the Commander-in-Chief, with a 
crowd of Generals, whose names had been borne by fame across 
the ocean, and of legislators and statesmen, bowed along with 
the multitude of private soldiers, in divine worship ; while the 
solemn and tender wave of sacred emotion subdued the great 
and the unknown alike before it. At these scenes, which were 
so directly produced by his instrumentality, General Jackson 
was the most unobtrusive assistant. Seated in some retired 
spot amidst the private soldiers, he listened to the worship and 
the preaching with an edifying attention, and watched the power 
of the truth upon the great congregation, with a glow of elevated 
and tender delight. Never, since the days when Whitefield 
preached to the mingled crowd of peers and beggars in 
Moorfields, has the sky looked down upon a more imposing 
worship. 

Another enterprise which marked the evangelical labors of 

82 



650 LIFE OF LIEUr. -GENERAL JACKSON. 

this winter, was tlie building of temporary chapels by the men 
for their • own worship. Two or three contiguous regiments 
usually concurred in the work. Tall trees were cut down, and 
brought to the spot by the teams of the Quartermasters, and 
built into walls of logs. Chimneys were built of the same 
rude material, and plastered with clay, whence the huge fires, 
and the torches of resinous pine, diffused a ruddy glow of warmth 
and light. The structure was roofed with clapboards, and 
seated with rude benches formed from the split bodies of trees. 
The Stonewall Brigade was the first to begin this work, to 
General Jackson's great delight. No sooner had they completed 
their own huts, than they sot to work, and by a multitude of 
willing hands, completed their church in a few days. The next 
Sabbath it was formally dedicated to the worship of God ; and 
during the' winter, was constantly occupied in turn by the 
chaplains of the several regiments. During the week, frequent 
meetings for prayer, and bible classes, were hold here by torch- 
light, and the men were encouraged to expend their leisure in 
the study of the scriptures, and in sacred music, instead of 
the degrading amusements of the card-table. As this chapel 
was near the quarters of General Jackson, he often came to 
worship in it with his favorite brigade. Instead of affecting 
the chief scat in the synagogue, he delighted to sit among the 
rough, weather-beaten privates, and lay aside all official dignity 
to accompany them to the throne of grace on the common 
footing of worshippers. Their reverence for his person some- 
times led them to leave a respectful distance between themselves 
and the seat he occupied ; but lie would never consent that any 
space should be thus lost, where so many were crowding to hear 
the word. As he saw them seeking seats elsewhere, he was 
accustomed to rise, and invite them by gesture to the vacancies 
near him ; and was never so well satisfied as when he had an 



THE chaplains' ASSOCIATION. 651 

unkempt soldier toucliing his elbow on cither hand, and all the 
room about him compactly filled. Then he was ready to 
address himself with his usual fixed attention to the services. 

The most important measure which he introduced was the 
weekly chaplains' meeting. This was a temporary association 
of all the chaplains and evangelists of his coriis, who, on 
meeting, appointed one of their own number to preside as a 
chairman or moderator, and another as their secretary, and 
after joining in public worship, proceeded to consult upon the 
spiritual interests of their charges, to arrange and concert their 
labors, and to devise means for supplying the destitutions of the 
army. These counsels were a true evangelical union. By a 
common and silent consent, which bears high testimony to the 
cultivation and honor of these laborious men, all subjects of 
sectarian debate, were effectually excluded, and their delibera- 
tions were confined to the interests of our common Christianity. 
But it was also a high evidence of the general soundness of 
religious opinion in the Confederate States, that there was not a 
single regiment in the army, which showed a disposition to 
introduce a minister who did not belong to an evangelical and 
orthodox communion, as their chaplain, except one or two priests 
of the Romish Church. On the other hand, the office in the 
Federal army was as frequently filled by Universalists, and other 
erratic heretics, or by laymen who never preached, as by regular 
ministers of the gospel. 

General Jackson displayed his delicate sense of propriety by 
not attending these weekly synods of his chaplains statedly 
himself. But he watched them with lively interest. As soon as 
his own chaplain returned from them, he was accustomed to call 
hhn, and say : " Now come and report." He inquired into all 
that was said and done, and all the measures proposed, for 
evangelizing his command. When he was told of the fraternal 



652 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

loYC which reigned among the chaplains, of the devout spirit 
manifested in their worship, and of the news of the ingathering 
of souls which they brought from their several charges, his eyes 
were often filled with happy tears, and ho blessed God for the 
grace. The stated meetings of the chaplains were the means of 
awakening them to a greatly increased zeal and fidelity, as 
well as for adding system and concert to their labors. So that 
this service, which, while adorned by the fidelity of a number of 
truly apostolic men, had yet fallen, in general, into no little 
disfavor, was now thoroughly renovated. Thus the energy of 
General Jackson's will, though so modestly exerted, made itself 
felt among his chaplains, just as among his stafi" and field officers, 
in communicating efiiciency and vigor to all tlieii' performance of 
duty. It was remarked of him, that while no General officer 
had so unpretending a Stafi", none other was so efficient as his. 
This was due not so much to the character of the men who 
constituted it, as to the force of his own example and energ}^, in 
inspiring the spiidt of endeavor, among all who were subject to 
his authority. 

The weekly meetings of the chaplains efiected more good than 
he had hoped from thepi ; for he had warned others not to anti- 
cipate too much. Hence, when he found that his plans were bear- 
ing so much fruit, he was filled with delight. One of the benafits of 
the movement was the bringing of the ministers in the army into 
closer connexion with his person. His own chaplain was a bond 
of union also between himself and the others, through which they 
were encouraged to visit his quarters more unreservedly, and to 
know and love him, not as a commander only, but also as a 
Christian. To every worthy preacher of the gospel his manner 
was full of warmth and tenderness, showing that he esteemed 
them very highly in love for thcii- work's sake. Everything was 
done with a tliouglitful affection, to facilitate their labors, and 



JACKSON EXACTS FIDELITY OF CHAPLAINS. G53 

provide for tlieir comforts. His contributions from liis private 
purse were also large, to provide them with means for supplying 
their charges with Bibles and religious reading. The Govern- 
ment had never made any provision for the support of the chap- 
lains in their work, other than a very inadequate salary. The 
General now applied to the Military Committee of CongresS; to 
bring in a law enabling Quartermasters to provide chaplains, 
like other officers, with tents, fuel, and forage for horses. This 
just measure was indeed neglected amidst the hurry of the clos- 
ing session, but was finally adopted by a subsequent Congress. 

General Jackson, in his intercourse with his chaplains, often 
inculcated their obligation " to endm-e hardness, as good soldiers 
of Jesus Christ," to live with their regiments, and acquire theif 
confidence by sharing their exposures, and to cleave to then- 
work amidst all the pains and crosses which the common soldiers 
were compelled by the law of their country to endure. He said 
that a chaplain should not think of resigning his post for any 
less cause than would justify a field-officer in laying down his 
commission; and that they should no more think than he, of 
leaving his regiment without a regular furlough, founded upon 
just cause. To do so, he argued, taught the men by a practical 
lesson, that the soul was less important than the body, and that 
secular duties were more urgent than the business of redemp- 
tion. 

When with chaplauas whom he esteemed like-minded. General 
Jackson was very sure to turn all conversation speedily into a 
spiritual channel. With intimate Christian friends, the things 
of God were almost his exclusive topics in private. His favorite 
subjects now were, the importance of an unshaken faith ; of casting 
all our care upon God in the diligent performance of duty ; and 
of the evidences of the Divine faitlifulness in the course of Provi- 
dence and redemption. He spoke emphatically of the dutv of 



654 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

conforming our wills to God's, and of a thoroughly cheerful 
acquiescence whenever His will was manifested. He was often 
delighted to speculate upon the modes in which the Divine will 
might be safely ascertained. ' His favorite maxiui was : " Duty 
is ours : consequences are God's." He spoke much also of the 
blessedness of a full and hearty obedience, in its effects upon 
the Christian's own happiness. He often declared that it was his 
first desire to command a " converted army." This, he believed, 
enjoying the spiritual favor of God upon their individual souls, 
engaged in a just cause, and undertaking every enterprise with 
prayer, must meet with success ; and prove, in the end, invincible. 
He spoke frequently also of the connexion between national 
obedience and public prosperity; declaring that it is holiness 
which exalteth a people ; and showing the supreme importance 
of the Government's at least refraining from placing itself, in 
any way, in opposition to God's laws and institutions. Hence 
his zeal for the outward and spiritual observance of the Sabbath, 
which has been noted. 

One more favorite project remains to be mentioned, in which 
about this time, he sought to interest those wlio met him. This 
was the establishment of a Christian Daily Newspaper, which 
should honor God by refraining from all Sabbath work. He 
argued that their issue of Monday should contain nothing printed 
after Saturday evening; and that Christians should be willing to 
receive their news later by one day, once during the week, in 
order to honor God's law. If this delay should diminish the 
circulation of such a journal, and make it less remunerative than 
others ; he declared that he was willing to repay a part of this 
loss out of his own means. 

As soon as his quarters were established at Hamilton's Cross- 
ing, he began tlic custom of regular domestic worship in his 
mess, each morning. These services were willingly attended by 



LETTEES. 655 

all his staff, out of respect for his Christian character, or from 
their own interest in them. He, who was of all men least 
obtrusive in his religion, carefully forbore from commanding their 
attendance, although his beaming face indicated plainly enough 
the pleasure he felt in seeing them present. Whenever his chap- 
lain was not there, he always conducted these services himself, 
with his customary unction and humility. On "Wednesday and 
Sunday nights, there was also a prayer meeting observed at his 
quarters, where he was always a worshipper, and led the devo- 
tions of his brethren, when desired to do so by a minister. A 
few of. the young men upon his Staff had cultivated the delightful 
art of sacred music. On the afternoon of the Sabbaths, when 
the necessary business, which he always reduced within the nar- 
rowest limits, was despatched, it was his favorite occupation to 
have singing; and frequently, as the little choir was conclud- 
ing, he said; "Now let us ha,ve the hymn;" 

"How happy are they 
"Who their Sa\iour obey." 

On every intelligent Christian who approached him at this time, 
he made the impression of the most eminent sanctity. They all 
left him with this testimony : that he was the holiest man they 
had ever seen. 

The following extracts from letters to Mrs. Jackson may be 
introduced here. 

•'March 14th, 1863. 

" On next Monday there is to be a meeting of the chaplains of 
my corps, and I pray that good may result from the meeting. 

" The time has about come for campaigning, and I hope early 
next week to leave my room and go into a tent near Hamilton's 
crossing, which is on the railroad, about five miles from Freder- 



656 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

icksburg. It is rather a relief to get where there will be less 
comfort than in a room ; as I hope thereby persons will be pre- 
vented from encroaching so much on my time. I am greatly 
behind with my reports, and am very desirous of getting through 
with them before another campaign commences." 

"April 10th. 

" I trust that God is going to bless us with great succesS; and 
in such a manner as to show that it is all His gift ; and I trust 
and pray that it will lead our country to acknowledge Him, and 
to live in accordance with His will as revealed in the Bible. 
There appears to be an increased religious interest among our 
troops here. Our chaplains have weekly meetings on Tuesdays : 
and the one of this week was more charming than the preceding 
one," &c. 

The effort thus begun in General Jackson's corijs, was imitated 
in the others. The movement was not limited to the army of 
Vu'ginia: but was also propagated in the South and West. 
Soon the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, and the 
other ecclesiastical authorities, encouraged by the advice which 
the friends of General Jackson were permitted to quote from 
him, began to take action on behalf of the army ; and a number 
of the most distinguished ministers were sent to the different 
corps to labor with the chaplains as itinerants, and to communi- 
cate the wants of the army to the churches. The speedy fall of 
the originator of the work rather gave new impetus to it, than 
retarded it ; and the result was, that general revival of religion 
in the Confederate armies, which has been even more astonishing 
to the world, than the herculean exertions of the Confederate 
States. A wide-spread reform of morals was wrought, which was 
obvious to every spectator, in tlie repression of profanity and 
drunkenness, the increase of order and discipline, and the good 



NEW CAMPAIGN OPENS. 057 

conduct of tlie troops in battle. It was just those commands in 
which this work of grace was most powerful, that became the 
most trustworthy in the post of danger. The brigade of Barks- 
dale, for instance, which had held its ground in Fredericksburg 
with almost incredible resolution under the great bombardment, 
was equally noted for its religious zeal. Returning to their post 
of honor in the city, they occupied one of the deserted churches 
as their chapel, and maintained a constant series of nightly meet- 
ings, attended by numerous conversions, for many weeks. In 
short, the conversions in the various Confederate armies within 
the ensuing year, were counted, by the most sober estimate, at 
twelve thousand men. The strange spectacle was now pre- 
sented, of a people among whom the active religious life seemed 
to be transferred from the churches at home — the customary 
seats of piety — to the army 5 which, among other nations, has 
always been dreaded as the school of vice and infidelity. Thus, 
the grief and fears of the good, lest this gigantic war should 
arrest the religious training of the whole youth of the land, cut 
off the supply of young preachers for its pulpits, and rear up 
for the country a generation of men profane and unchristian, 
were happily consoled; they accepted this new marvel, of an 
army made the home and source of the religious life of a nation, 
with grateful joy, as anotlier evidence of the favor of God to the 
afflicted people. 

The reader has seen an allusion of General Jackson's letter, 
to the bright hopes which he entertained of a prosperous cam- 
paign. By his diligence during the winter, his cor]Js had been 
brought to such numbers and efficiency as it had never reached 
before. It noAV contained more than thirty thousand fighting 
men; and it was animated by a towering spirit of determina- 
tion and confidence. It was soon after his removal to Hamil- 
ton's Crossing, that a member of his Staff, alluding to the 

83 



658 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

reported vast preparations of tlie enemy, described to him the 
temper of his own men, and their eagerness for the coming 
collision. As he listened, the fire of battle kindled more and 
more in his face, until he sprung from his seat, and exclaimed : 
" I wish the enemy would come on !" Then raising his eyes rev- 
erently, he added: "My trust is iu God." Thus his spirit was 
girding itself for the coming struggle, with faith and prayer. 
The collision which was approaching promised indeed to be one 
which might well have made the heart stand still with awe. 
Hooker was again recruiting his monstrous army to its former 
numbers, and was preparing every means for a new advance on 
Richmond. The precursor of the new campaign was an irrup- 
tion of three thousand Federal cavalry across Kelly's Ford into 
the county of Culpepper. The design of their General, Averill, 
was to reach the Central Railroad, ascertain something of the 
positions and numbers of the Confederates, and break up their 
line of supplies toward Gordonsville. But General Stuart mei 
him near Kelly's Ford with eight hundred men of the brigade of 
FitzHugh Lee, and after a stubbornly-contested combat drove 
him back across the Rappahannock. 

The season of quiet was happily closed for General Jackson 
by a visit from his wife and daughter. Having secured lodgings 
for them at the neighboring country-seat of a gentleman, near 
Hamilton's Crossing, he yielded at length to Mrs. Jackson's 
solicitations, and to his own affection, and about the middle of 
April met them at the railroad station. The arrival of the mail- 
train from Richmond was the signal, every day, for the assem- 
blage of a great crowd of officers and soldiers off dut}', around 
the place. In the midst of these the General came forward 
to the doors of the cars, to receive his expected treasures. 

" The infant, refreshed by long slumber, liad just awakened, 
and looked up at him with a countenance very fresh and bright. 



VISIT FROM MRS. JACKSON. 659 

His fii'st care, after the accustomed salutation, was to get the 
mother and child safely through the crowd and rain into the car- 
riage which was to convoy them to their temporary home. 
Arrived there, he divested himself of his wet overcoat, and tak- 
ing his baby into his arms, caressed it with tender delight, 
exclaiming upon its beauty and size. Henceforth, his chief 
pleasure was in caressing her, and he was several times seen, 
while she was sleeping, kneeling long over her cradle, watching 
her with a face beaming with admiration and happiness." 

This visit was a source of unalloyed delight to him. His 
lii'st care was to make arrangements for the baptism of the 
child ; for the uncertainties of the day warned him that both the 
parents might not speedily meet again to concur in the sacred 
rite. He therefore caused his chaplain to administer baptism 
to it at the quarters of Mrs. Jackson, among a small circle of 
their personal friends. Such was his devotion to duty, that the 
attractions of his family made slight change in his busy habits ; 
and his time was employed as strictly as ever, in the care of 
his command. After the labors of the day were completed, he 
was accustomed to leave his tent, and dine, with one or two 
comrades, with Mrs. Jackson, spending his evenings with her, 
chiefly in joyous romps with little Julia. She, on her part, imme- 
diately formed the closest intimacy with her new admirer, and 
learned to prefer his caresses to all others. 



GGO LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



CHANCELLORSVILLE. 



As the time cU-ew near for that resumption of active hostil- 
ities, which General Jackson knew to be inevitable, his temper 
began to rise in its animation and resolve, to meet the crisis. 
ne now spoke with less reserve than before, to the members of 
his military family, concerning the general principles which should 
govern the war, upon the Confederate side. Speaking of the 
coming campaign, he said with an intense concentration of lii"e 
and will : " We must make it an exceedingly active one. Only 
thus can a weaker country cope with a stronger ; it must make 
up in activity what it lacks in strength. A defensive campaign 
can only be made successful by taking the aggressive at the 
proper time. Napoleon never waited for his adversary to 
become fully prepared ; but struck him the fii'st blow, by vu-tue 
of his superior activity." 

Early upon the 29th of April, he was aroused by a message, 
which said that an officer was below with something important 
to communicate immediately. As he arose he remarked : " Tliat 
sounds as if something stirrmg were afoot." After a few 
moments, he returned and informed Mrs. Jackson, that General 
Early, to whom he had committed the guardianship of the river 
bank, had sent his adjutant to report that Hooker was crossing 
in force. He said that great events were probably at hand, and 
that he must go immediately to verify the news he liad received; 




Chancellorsville. 



ENEMY CEOSS THE EIVER. G61 

that if it were as lie supposed, and the hostilities were about to 
be resumed on a great scalC; Mr. Yerby's would be no place for 
a lady and infant ; and she would be compelled to retire to 
Richmond. He therefore, requested Mrs. Jackson to make 
immediate preparations for her journey, so that, if his surmises 
proved true, she might leave at a moment's warning, in the fore- 
noon. He promised, if it were practicable, to return in person 
and assist her departure, but added that, as his duties might 
deprive him of the power to do so, he would say good-by now. 
Thus, after an affectionate leave-taking, he hurried away, without 
breakfast, and she saw him no more until she returned to the 
side of his dying bed. Her heart was oppressed with gloomy 
forebodings for his safety, arising from her anticipation of the 
desperate struggle into which she well knew, it was his purpose 
to plunge, rather than yield ground to his gigantic adversary ; 
his animated eagerness seemed to leave him no time for such 
thoughts for self. 

Hurrying to his troops, he now made it his first business to 
communicate the movements of the . enemy to the Commander- 
in-Chief The Aide whom he sent, found him still in his tent ; 
and in reply to the message, he said, " Well, I heard firing ; and 
I was beginning to think it was time some of you lazy young 
fellows were coming, to tell me what it was all about. Say to 
General Jackson, that he knows just as well what to do with the 
enemy, as I do." This answer indicated his high confidence in 
his great Lieutenant ; and the strain of kmdly pleasantry, habit- 
ual with Lee, had a happy influence in infusing into all who came 
near him, his own composure and serene courage in great emer- 
gencies. "When General Jackson joined his troops, he found so 
much demanding his oversight, that he did not return to the as- 
sistance of his wife ; but sent her brother, his Aide, Lieutenant 
Joseph Morrison, to provide her with an ambulance, and escort 



GG2 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

her to Guinea's Station ; whence she was to proceed by railroad 
to Richmond. This young officer, eager to be iu the post of 
danger with his chief, transferred his task to his chaplain ; who 
convoyed her to Guinea's, and then also hurried back to his 
duties with the army. 

"When General Jackson got his corps under arms, he saw that 
the Federalists were crossing in great force below Deep Run, 
and entrenching themselves at the edge of the plateau ; on the 
same ground occupied by Franklin and Hooker at the battle of 
Fredericksburg. He estimated their numbers at thirty-five 
thousand men. But he saw at a glance, that there was, as yet, 
no sufficient evidence that Hooker was about to provoke a seri- 
ous collision on the ground which had been so disastrous to 
Burnside. That ground had now been strengthened by a con- 
tinous line of field-works, along the edge of the plateau near 
the Spottsylvania hills, and by a second partial line within the 
verge of the forest. He suspected that this crossing was the 
feint, while the real movement was made upon one or the other 
flank ; and lie therefore awq,ited the reports of the vigilant Stuart, 
whose cavalry pickets were stretched from Port Royal to the 
higher course of the Rappahannock. It has already been ex- 
plained, that the character of the ground, rendered an assault 
upon the enemy near the northern edge of the plain inexpedient, 
because of their commanding artillery upon the Stafibrd Heights. 

The 'Confederate Generals were not left long in doubt. Stuart 
soon reported appearances which indicated a passage of the 
Rappahannock by Hooker west of Fredericksburg. He had now 
restored the Federal army to the same vast numbers which had 
accompanied Burnside; and discarding the tlu*ee grand divisions 
with their commanders, which had afl'ordcd to him, when one of 
the three, so good a pretext for insubordination, had tlu'0"\vn his 
forces into nine coips d' annce commanded by as many generals, 



hooker's true plan. 663 

besides the cavaby division under Stonemau. The plan of 
campaign which he now adopted, was a complicated one. He 
proposed with three corps under General Sedgwick, to cross 
the Rappahannock below Fredericksburg, and make a demonstra- 
tion sufficiently formidable in appearance, to occupy General 
Lee there. Meantime, the remamder of his great army was to 
proceed by forced marches up the northern bank of the Eappa- 
hannock, screened from observation by the forest countrj^, and 
an intervening line of pickets, to Kelly's ford. There he pro- 
posed to force a passage into Culpepper, and marching rapidly to 
Germarina and Ely's fords, upon the Eapid Ann, in a southeast- 
erly direction, to cross them while the Confederates were amused 
at Fredericksburg, establish himself in the Wilderness of Spott- 
sylvania and fortify on General Lee's flank. K he remained at 
Fredericksburg, Hooker persuaded himself that he would be 
able, from this new temporary base, to command his communica- 
tions with Richmond. If he left Fredericksburg, to make head 
against this formidable threat upon his left and rear, Hooker 
proposed to withdraw the larger part of his troops employed 
in the feint there, to bring them over by the United States' ford, 
which his movement into the Wilderness would uncover to him, 
and receive the attack of General Lee in his entrenched position. 
While his infantry was thus employed, nearly all his cavalry, 
under Stoneman, was to cross the Rapid Ann above the army, 
upon a grand raid, to penetrate the country across the Central 
Railroad, destroy it, pass down toward the junction of the 
Central and Fredericksburg roads, cut the latter, and thus break 
up all communication between the Confederates and their Capi- 
tal. The Federal Commander had persuaded himself that Gen- 
eral Lee was laid aside by sickness, that all his force, except 
Jackson's corj)s, was cither absent with Longstreet, or disaf- 
fected and scattered, and that with his vast numbers he would 



664 I.IFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACK^OX. 

easily surround and crush the remainder, leaving no organized 
foe between him and Richmond. Li his usual boastful spu'it, he 
exalted the invincibility of his host declaring it to be " the finest 
army upon the planet." 

To meet this tremendous force, General Lee had the cor2)s of 
General Jackson, and two divisions of the corjys of General 
Longstreet, those of Anderson and McLaws. The other three, 
with Longstreet, under Hood, Pickett, Ransom, were absent in 
Southeastern Virginia, making a demonstration against Suffolk, 
wliither they had been dii'ccted by the scarcity of forage and 
food in Spottsylvania. The corjjs of General Jackson now con- 
sisted of four divisions, — those of A. P. Hill; D. H. Hill, com- 
manded by Brigadier General Rhodes ; Trimble, commanded by 
Brigadier General Colston; and Early. General D. H. Hill 
had been detached to another and more important command, 
and Major- General Trimble was detained by infninity at his 
home. The four divisions now contained about twenty-eight 
thousand muskets, and an aggregate of more than tliirty thou- 
sand men and officers. They were supported by twenty-eight 
field batteries, containing one hundred and fifteen guns ; but of 
these many were deficient in horses to move them with prompti- 
tude. The scarcity of forage had reduced the larger part of 
the artillery horses, and had destroyed not a few. Besides these 
batteries, the army was still accompanied by a reserved cor^s of 
artillery, commanded by Brigadier General Pendleton. Stuart's 
division of cavalry was also acting upon the left. So that Gen- 
eral Lee had, in all, an aggregate of about forty-five thousand 
men, with which to meet one hundred and twenty-five thousand. 

The enemy no sooner appeared upon the Rapid Ann, than 
General Anderson's division was marched westward to meet 
them, supported by a part of M'Laws's. On Thursda}^, the re- 
mainder of M'Laws's brigades, except one left upon Marye's Hill, 



MOVEMENTS AGAINST HOOKER. 665 

was sent to the support of Anderson. Meantime, General Jack- 
son lay in the lines occupied by the Confederate army on the 
13th of December, watching the proceedings of Sedgwick before 
him, who was ostentatiously parading his force, and seeking to 
magnify the impression of his numbers. The attitude of Hooker 
was now most threatening to the Confederates ; but he had com- 
mitted the capital error of dividing his army, and operating with 
the parts upon two lines, which, although convergent, were exte- 
rior lines to General Lee. The latter had his option to attack * 
the one or tlie other part with the weight of his main force, and 
thus to deal with the two fragments in detail. No doubt could 
be entertained by the true strategist as to this leading principle. 
When some person about the Staff, after the development of 
Hooker's plan, expressed his anxiety and his fear lest the army 
should be compelled to retreat before him. General Jackson re- 
plied sharply, " Who said that ? No, sir, we shall not fall back ; 
we shall attack them." But the question to be decided was, which 
part should be attacked first ? In favor of assailing Sedgwick 
were some plausible reasons. Time was an important element 
in the movements of the inferior army, possessing the interior 
lines ; and if it were not improved, the loss of its own line of 
communications, or the approximation of the two separated parts 
of its enemy would speedily transfer the advantage of concentra- 
tion to him again. But Jackson was already in front of Sedg- 
wick, and no march was necessary to bring him into collision 
with him ; whereas a day must be consumed in going to the Wil- 
derness, to seek Hooker. Sedgwick's was also the smaller force ; 
but still, its overtlu-ow would probably decide the failure of 
Hooker's grand combination. These considerations were coun- 
terbalanced by the facts, that Sedgwick had now entrenched 
himself, and that the assault upon him must be made under the 
fire of the Stafford batteries. After animated discussion between 

84 



666 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

Generals Lcc and Jackson, the former decided to meet Sedg- 
wick's feint by a feint ; to leave Early's division, of about seven 
thousand men, in the entrenchments with Barksdale's brigade, 
upon Marye's Hill, to confront his thirty-five thousand, while the 
whole remainder of the army stole away to reinforce Generals 
Anderson and M'Laws, and to take the aggressive against 
Hooker. Li this plan General Jackson cheerfully acquiesced. 

Thursday, the 30th of April, had now arrived, and he pre- 
pared to break up his quarters. The opening of the campaign 
had metamorphosed the whole man. Those who had seen him 
in his winter-quarters, toiling with a patient smile over his heaps 
of official papers, who had received his gentle and almost feminine 
kindnesses there, who had only beheld him among his chaplains, or 
at public worship, the deferential and tender Christian, had been 
tempted to wonder whether this were iudeed the thunderbolt of 
war, he was described by fame ; and whether so meek a spirit 
as his would be capable 'of directing its terrors. But when they 
met him on this morning, all such doubts fled before his first 
glance. His step was quick and firm, his whole stature uncon- 
sciously erected and elate with genius and majesty, while all 
comprehending thought, decision, and unconquerable will, bmmed 
in his eye. His mind seemed, with equal rapidity and clearness, 
to remember ever^'thing, and to judge everything. In a firm and 
decisive tone, he issued his rapid ordel'S to every branch of his 
service, overlooking nothing which could possibly affect the 
efficiency of his corps. The tents which for a month and a half 
had formed his quarters, were now about to be struck and 
removed, when he rode up to them for the last time ; a mob of 
officers, aids, soldiers, and teamsters, was bustling around, in all 
the confusion of a hurried removal, when he dismounted and 
threw the rein of his horse to his servant Jim, and retii-ed within 
his tent. A moment after, he raised his hand to the people 



GENERAL LEE CALLS HIM TO CONFRONT HOOKER. 667 

around, with a warning gesture, and whispered : " Hush 

The General is praying!" An instant silence fell on every per- 
son. After a full quarter of an hour he raised the curtain and 
came out, with an elevated and serene countenance, and mount- 
ing his horse, after some final directions, rode away. That tent 
had doubtless been pitched with prayer ; and now the last act of 
its occupant was prayer. With this final preparation he turned 
to meet the enemies of his country. 

General Lee had now proceeded in person to examine the 
formidable demonstration of Hooker above, and had written 
back to- General Jackson, informing him of the situation of 
affairs, and instructing him to move to his support. The enemy, 
in great force, had crossed the Rapid Ann at Germanna and 
Ely's fords, driving back the guards placed there by General 
Stuart, had advanced into the country a number of miles, uncov- 
ering for themselves the United States ford, which crosses the 
Rappahannock a mile below the junction of the two rivers, and 
had established themselves at the villa of Chancellorsvillc, fifteen 
miles west of Fredericksburg. The reader's attention must now 
be claimed for a description of the place. Two main roads 
lead from Fredericksburg, westward to Orange ; the one called 
the old turnpike, because first made, the other, called the plank- 
road; because once paved with wooden boards. The plank- 
road is south of the old turnpike, and separated from it during 
the most of its course, by a space of a few miles. But the trav- 
eller who proceeds along it from Fredericksburg, westward, at 
the distance of fifteeil miles from the town, finds the two 
thoroughfares merge themselves into one, and continue to pur- 
sue the same track for tlu-ee miles ; when they again diverge, 
even more widely than before ; the plank-road, as before, bearing 
toward the left or south. At the spot where the two highways 
unite, stood the ample villa of Chancellor; in the midst of a 



6G8 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

farm of a mile in extent, which, like an island amidst tho "waters, 
was surrounded on every side by forests. From the same spot, 
two other roads diverged, the one leading toward the northeast 
and Banks' ford, the other toward the northwest. This last, 
after proceeding two miles, divided into two, of which the right 
or northern branch led to the United States ford, and the left or 
western, to the ford of Ely, over the Rapid Ann. The surface 
of the country around Chancellorsville is undulating, but pre- 
sents no hills of great altitude. Immediately west of that farm, 
begins the country known as the Wilderness of Spottsylvania ; a 
region interspersed with a few small and inferior farms, but 
whose poor and gravelly soil is otherwise covered, for a few 
miles, Avith a tangled forest of oak and shrubbery. It was in this 
region, that the fuel had been cut, ever since the days when Gov- 
ernor Spottiswoode of the colony, first wrought the iron mines 
of the neighborhood, to supply the furnaces. Hence arose the 
dense coppices which covered the larger part of the surface of 
the country ; in which every stump had sent up two or three 
minor stems in place of the parent trunk removed by the axe of 
the woodsman, and the undergrowth had availed itself of the tem- 
porary flood of sunlight let in upon the soil, to occupy it with an 
almost impenetrable thicket of dwarf oak, chinquapin, and 
whortleberry. But six or seven miles west of Chancellorsville, 
the Wilderness Run, a pellucid stream flowing northward to 
the Rapid Ann presents a zone of better soil, which is covered 
with handsome farms and country seats. 

Hooker had concentrated his forces at Chancellorsville by the 
30th of April, and was now busy in protecting himself by bar- 
ricades and earthworks fronting toward the cast, south, and 
southwest; which, with an iiTCgular circuit conformed to tho 
gentle declivities of tho sm'face, embraced, not only the whole 
farm of Chancellor, but an annular belt of the forest in wliich 



HOOKER ARRESTED AT CHANCELLORSVILLE. 6G9 

it was emlDOSomed also. By this arrangement, Hoolier's whole 
circuit of defences was masked in the woods ; and, as the thickets 
in front were infested with his sharp-shooters, an exact discoverv 
of the position and nature of his works could only be made by 
an attack in force. The difficulties of the assault were thus 
vastly increased ; and it was with some show of reason that the 
braggart general declared on Thursday that he now had a posi- 
tion from which nothing could dislodge him. The longer axis 
of the partially entrenched camp thus formed, extending from 
east to west, was about two miles. But other works were 
stretched -two or three miles farther westward, fronting toward 
the south and southwest, and designed to cover the turnpike 
and the two farms of Melzi Chancellor and Talley, which were 
also occupied with Federal camps, from an attack coming from 
the south. 

Having thus established himself, Hooker began on Thursday 
to push forward his skirmishing parties to the east, in order to 
feel his way toward General Lee's supposed rear, and to reach 
his hand toward Sedgv/ick. Proceeding three miles toward 
Fredericksburg, he was estopped by the division of General An- 
derson, at Tabernacle Church, which was drawn up on a stron^i- 
north and south line, and defended on its flanks by artillery and 
cavalry. To his assistance M'Laws also. came speedily j and it 
was expected that General Stuart, who had retired out of Cul- 
pepper before the Federalists, and had placed himself upon their 
south front, would connect himself with General Anderson's left 
before dawn on Friday morning. Meantime Hooker was en- 
deavoring to watch every Confederate movement, by means of 
sundry balloons raised to the sky from the north side of the 
Rappahannock ', from which his scouts maintained a constant in- 
tercourse with the earth and with his headquarters by telegraph 



670 LIFE OP LTEDT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

■wires. Sucli was tho position of affairs at nigLtfall on tlie last 
day of April. 

General Jackson now debated with himself the question of 
moving to the support of General Anderson at once by a night 
march, or of awaiting the dawn of Friday, the 1st of May. He 
was reluctant to adopt the former determination, because the 
troops would be unfitted for the arduous work before them by 
occupying in the toil of a march the hours which should be 
devoted to sleep. But, on the other hand, he was powerfully 
persuaded to it by the facts that Anderson and M'Laws might 
be assailed with overwhelming numbers at the dawn of the next 
morning, and that a night march would conceal his withdrawal 
much more effectually from Sedgwick. Having obtained trusty 
guides, he therefore determined to draw his whole corps, except 
the division of Early, out of the trenches silently, beginning at 
midnight, ;to retire a few miles southward, as though proceeding 
toward Spottsylvania Court House, and then make his way by 
the country roads of the interior across to the Orange plank- 
road, and thus proceed westward. Orders were accordingly 
issued to all the staff departments and commanders of divisions, 
and the movement was begun at the appointed time by the light 
of a brilliant moon. The column was led by the division of 
General D. H. Hill, under Brigadier- General Rhodes. Before 
the mists of the morning had cleared away, the whole corps was 
far on its way, and securely out of view amidst the woods of the 
interior, beyond the most piercmg espionage of Hooker's bal- 
loonists. General Jackson reached the position of Anderson 
about eleven o'clock A. M., and found him still confronting the 
detachments of Hooker, which were of unknown strength. The 
Confederate line now reached from the . plank road northward 
to the old turnpike, and thence toward the Rappahaimock 
through a region chiefly covered with dense woods and thickets. 



HE SKIRMISHES WITH HOOKER: 671 

General Jackson, as tlie superior officer under the Comman- 
- der-iu- Chief, was now entrusted with the direction of the fieklf 
and was ordered to take the aggressive and press back the Fed- 
eral out-posts, until Hooker's real strength and position were 
disclosed. This he proceeded to do, with all his accustomed 
vigor. Some of the best regiments of Anderson's and his own 
divisions were deployed as skirmishers, and steadily advanced 
through the woods, hunting out the concealed enemy, and driving 
them in with continual slaughter. The rattle of the rifles was 
heard creeping along, upon a front of several miles' extent, like 
the crackling of some vast forest conflagration, while a few light 
field-pieces, advanced along the several roads, abreast of the rifle- 
men, cleared the way as often as the enemy attempted to gather 
a force in any open space. General Jackson himself rode with 
the line of skirmishers, and often before them, urging them on 
whenever they paused, and assuring them of his powerful sup- 
port. There are few services which put the nerve of the brave 
soldier to a more trying test, than such an advance upon a con- 
cealed enemy in a tangled wood. He knows not what danger 
is near him in front, or at what moment the stealthy shot may 
burst upon him from an unseen foe. He cannot, practise the 
same concealment with the enemy who lies in ambush for him, 
because he is continually in motion. But the Confederate line, 
urged on by General Jackson and his Staff, kept up a slow but 
steady advance throughout the afternoon, until the Federal pick- 
ets were, at nightfall, driven in upon their main line. Hooker, 
on his part, endeavored to retard their advance by detachments 
of riflemen, and by batteries, which, masked behind the dense 
woods, dropped their shells over in every direction toward the 
roads which were occupied by the Confederates. But all this 
proved rather an annoyance than a resistance, and the successes 
of the day were won with slight loss. 



672 LII^E OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

When Friday niglit arrived, Generals Lee and Jackson met, 
at a spot where the road to the Catharine Iron Furnace turned 
southwestward from the plank-road, wliich was barely a mile in 
front of Hooker's works. Here, upon the brow of a gentle hill, 
grew a cluster of pine-trees, while the gound was carpeted with 
the clean, dry sedge and fallen leaves. They selected this spot, 
with their respective Staffs, to bivouac, while the army lay upon 
their weapons, a few yards before them, and prepared to sleep 
upon the ground, like their men. General Stuart had now joined 
them, and reported the results of his rcconnoissances upon the 
south and west of Hooker's position. He had ascertained that 
the Federal commander had left a whole corj^s, under General 
Ke3^nolds, at Ely's Ford, to guard his communications there, and 
that he had massed ninety thousand men around Chanccllorsvillc, 
under his own eye, fortifying them upon the east, south and, 
southwest, as has been described. But upon the west and 
northwest his encampments were open, and their movements 
were watched by Stuart's pickets, who were secreted in the wil- 
derness there. He had also ascertamed, that almost all their 
cavalry had broken through the line of the Rapid Ann in one 
body, and had invaded the south, followed and watched by the 
brigade of W. H. Lee, evidently bent upon a grand raid against 
the Confederate communications. 

Generals Lee and Jackson now withdrew, and held an anxious 
consultation. That Hooker must be attacked, and that speedily, 
was clear to the judgments of both. It was not to be hoped that 
the absence of Jackson's corps from the front of Sedgwick could 
remain very long unknown to that General; or that Early'vS 
seven thousand could permanently restrain his corjts, with such 
additions as it might receive from Hooker. To hold the station- 
ary defensive in front of Chanccllorsvillc would, therefore, be 
equivalent to the loss of the whole line of the Rappahannock, 



Jackson's peoject. G73 

with a liasiardous retreat along a new and crooked line of opera- 
tions ; for the success of Sedgwick would deprive them of the 
direct one, and place him in alarming proximity to any other 
which they might adopt. Hooker, then, must be at once fought 
and beaten, or the initial . act of the campaign would close iu 
disaster. 

" General Lee had promptly concluded, that while, on the one 
hand, immediate attack was proper, some more favorable place 
for assault must be sought, by moving farther toward Hooker's 
right. The attempt to rout ninety thousand well armed troops, 
entrenched at their leisure, by a front attack, with thirty-five 
thousand, would, be too prodigal of patriot blood, and would 
offer to-o great a risk of repulse. He had accordingly already 
commanded his troops to commence a movement toward their 
left, and communicated his views to General Jackson, who 
warmly concurred in their wisdom. A report was about this 
time received from General FitzHugh Lee, of Stuart's com- 
mand, describing the position of tlic Federal army, and the 
roads which he held with his cavalry leading to its rear. Gen- 
eral Jackson now proposed to throw his command entirely into 
Hooker's rear, availing himself of the absence of the Federal 
cavalry, and the presence of the Confederate horse, and to 
assail him from the West, in concert with Anderson and 
M'Laws. 

Stuart was there with his active horsemen to cover this move- 
ment ; and he believed that it could be made with comparatively 
little risk, and, when accomplished, would enable him to crush 
the surprised enemy. He well knew that he was apparently 
proposing a "grand detachment"; a measure pronounced by 
military science- so reprehensible, in the presence of an active 
adversary. It might seem that, in venturing one instance of this 
hazardous measure, — the detaching of Early to remain at 
85 



67-i LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

Fredericksburg, — they had tempted fortune sufficiently far, with- 
out again repeating it by a further division of forces before Hooker. 
But the maxims of the military art should be our servants, and 
not our masters ; and the part of good sense is to modify then- 
application to actual instances, according to circumstances. In 
this case, the only choice was between his proposed expedient, 
which he well knew was unusual and hazardous, and another 
measure still more hazardous. The unwieldy and sluggish 
strategy of the huge Federal armies was to be considered ; and, 
along with that, the unsuspecting, boastful, and' overweening 
temper of their chief, who was precisely the man to be thus dealt 
with, rie was known to be a man who would make a stubborn 
jSght against a plain, front attack ; but whose lack of vigilance 
would make surprise practicable, and whose small resources of 
mind in the moment of confusion would probably offer him little 
aid in extricating himself from that surprise. It must.be remem- 
bered also, that if General Jackson's proposal were adopted, it 
would be the body moving with him which would really be the 
main army, and the divisions of Anderson and M'Laws which 
would be .the detachment. But if the issue of affairs at Chau- 
cellorsvillc were adverse, whatever were the plan of assault 
adopted, the retreat which must follow must be by a new line at 
any rate ; so that the separation of his coriis from its original 
line of operations was not, in this casCj a valid objection. It 
would still have its chance of retreat upon the Central Railroad, 
in Louisa county; and in whatever shape a repulse came at 
Chancellorsville, if it should perchance come, the army there 
would have no other resort. But if the assault were a victory, 
then the question of lines of retreat lost all its importance. 
Last, the two parts of the army would be in supporting dis- 
tance during the whole movement. 

After profound reflection, General Lee gave the sanction of 



JACKSON SEEKS A ROUTE TO THE REAR. 675 

liis judgmcut to this plan, and committed its execution to Gene- 
ral Jackson. He proposed to remain "with Anderson and 
M^Laws, and superintend their efforts to " contain "the vast army 
of Hooker until the hour for the critical attack should arrive. 
They then lay down upon the ground to seek a few hours of 
repose, which they so much needed. General Jackson, with his 
usual self-forgetfulness, had left his quarters, his mind absorbed 
in the care of the army, without any of those provisions of over- 
coat or blanket, which the professional soldier is usually so 
careful to attach to his saddle. He now lay down at the foot 
of a pine-tree, without covering. One of his adjutants, Colonel 
Alex. S. Pendleton, urged upon him his overcoat; but he, with 
persistent politeness, declined it. He then detached the large 
cape, and spread it over the General, retaining the body of the 
garment for himself. The General remained quiet until Pendle- 
ton fell asleep, when he arose and spread the cape upon him, and 
resumed his place without covering. In the morning he awoke 
chilled, and found that he had contracted a cold, but made no 
remark about it. 

When his chaplain awoke in the morning, before the dawn of 
day, he perceived a little fire kindled under the trees, and 
General Jackson sitting by it upon a box, such as was used to 
contain biscuit for the soldiers. The General knew that his 
former pastoral labors had led him to this region, and desired 
to learn something from him about its by-roads. He therefore 
requested him to sit beside him on the box ; and when the other 
declined to incommode him by doing so, made room for him and 
repeated : " Come, sit down : I wish to talk with you." As he 
took his seat, he perceived that Jackson was shuddering with 
cold, and was embracing the little blaze with expressions of 
great enjoyment. He then proceeded to state that the enemy 
were in great force at Chancellorsville, in a fortified position, 



676 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

and that to dislodge tlicm by a front attack, would cost a fearful 
loss of life. He wished to know whether he was acquainted 
with any way, by which their flank might be turned, either on 
the right or the left. He was informed in reply, that after 
proceeding southward along the fiu-nace road for a space, a 
blind road would present itself, leading westward and nearly 
parallel to the Orange plank-road, which, in its turn, would 
conduct into a plainer route, that fell into the great road four 
miles above Chancellorsville. The General, quickly drawing 
from his pocket an outline map, prepared for him by one of his 
engineers, and a pencil, said: "Take this map, and mark it 
down for me." When he saw it, he said: "That is too near: 
it goes within the line of the enemy's pickets. I wish to get 
Qioundivell to his rear, without being observed: Do you' know 
no other road ? " He replied that he had no perfect knowledge 
of any other, but presumed that the road which he had 
described as entering the Orange plank-road, four miles above 
Chancellorsville, must intersect the furnace road somewhere in 
the interior, because their directions were convergent. " Then, 
said Jackson : " Where can you find this out certainly ? " He 
was told that everything could doubtkss be learned at the house 
of the proprietor of the furnace, a mile and a half distant, 
whose son, a patriotic and gallant man, would be an excellent 
guide. He then said : " Go with Mr. Hotchkiss (his topograph- 
ical engineer) to the furnace, ascertain whether those roads 
meet, at what distance, and whether they are practicable for 
artillery — send Mr. Hotchldss back with the information, and 
flo you procure me a guide." 

The desired information was speedily obtained ; and it was 
discovered that the two roads crossed each other at the distance 
of a few miles; so that, by a circuit of fifteen miles, a point 
would be reached near Wilderness Run, several miles above the 



HOOKER MISUNDERSTANDS JACKSON "s MOVEMENT. 677 

farthest outposts of Hooker. The intersecting* road, by which 
the Orange plank-road was to be regained, was known as the 
Brock road. Leading from Culpepper southeastward, it crosses 
the old turnpike near the Wilderness tavern, and the plank- 
road two or tln^ee miles south of it ; so that by this route Gen- 
eral Jackson's purposes were perfectly met. As soon as ho 
received the necessary assurance of this, he gave orders for his 
corps to begin their march, and a little after sunrise appeared at 
the furnace at the head of the column. He declined the urgent 
request *of the family there to partake of the breakfast which 
they were preparing for him, and without any refreshment busied 
liimself in pushing on his troops. Forgetful of no prudent pre- 
caution, he directed that a regiment of General M'Laws should 
be sent to guard the entrance of the blind road near the Fur- 
nace, lest the Federalists should attack the side of his passiag 
column by that outlet. He then caused tlie regiments of Stuart, 
which were present, to patrol the country between his line of 
march and their outposts, that they might learn nothing of his 
journey. 

But, before the whole column had passed the Furnace, some 
of Hooker's scouts, mounted in the tops of the highest trees 
southeast of Chancellor's house, perceived it, and reported its 
movement to him. That sagacious commander was now per- 
fectly certain that the disheartened " Rebels " were in full 
retreat upon Richmond. Their early march to the southward 
could bear, in his judgment, no other explanation. He therefore 
prepared to harass the rear of their flight; and to this end 
posted some artillery upon the declivities facing the Furnace 
Road, which cannonaded the ammunition train of General Jack- 
son ; and sent down a few regiments, after a time, to ascertain 
the direction of his retreat. These came into collision with the 
regiment of M'Laws, captured a part of them, and were, in turn 



678 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON, 

driven off by a demonstration of other Confederate troops from 
the plank-road. Hooker now found the same firm resistance 
upon his eastern front which he had met the day before, and, 
after some feeble skirmishing of artillery and riflemen, became 
quiescent, awaiting further developments. It was here that he 
committed his fatal blunder, — a blunder inexcusable even when 
judged, in the absence of the light cast upon his situation by 
subsequent events, by his own professed conclusions. K he 
believed that the Confederate army was indeed retreating into 
the interior of Spottsylvania, and thence toward Richmond, it is 
strange that the bold front still maintained against him on the 
east by General Lee did not suggest an anxious doubt. Was 
not this a new manner for the rear-guard of a baffled and fleeing 
army to behave ? Did it not point, too strongly for a moment's 
hesitation, to the propriety of his at Once attacking them in such 
force as to learn what they truly meant ? And if he found them 
obstinate and immovable upon his cast front, would not that 
result dictate still more clearly that he should move upon their 
south or left flank, if necessary, with his whole force, until they 
were forced back, and the mystery of Jackson's disappearance 
on that side, and of the unaccountable gap which he was placing 
between himself and his friends, vras cleared up ? The history 
of war contains no stronger instance of the danger of the policy 
of " the stationary defensive," when adhered to in disregard of 
new circumstances. It was very properly a part of Hooker's 
lyrogramme, after gaining his strong position at Chancellorsville, 
to await the attack of the Confederates. But the prudence of 
this plan depended wholly upon thcii' making that attack in that 
mode in which he had prepared himself to receive it. Just as 
soon as it became doubtful whether they purposed to do this, the 
defensive policy became of doubtful propriety ; and sound judg- 
ment dictated that Hooker should modify his purposes also, and 



HIS POSITION IN hooker's REAR. 679 

should immediately assume the aggressive, sufficiently, at least, 
to determine their true project. By sitting still now, he forfeited 
all the strength of his defensive position. The best justificatiou 
of General Jackson's strategy is found in the fact that he so cor- 
rectly estimated the temper of his adversary, and anticipated the 
blunder which he would commit. 

The narrative returns now to his march. The troops^ com- 
prehending instantly that he was engaged in one of his famous 
assaults upon his enemy's flanks, responded to his eager spirit 
zealously, and pressed forward along the narrow country road 
at a rapid gait. Often the men were compelled to advance at 
a double-quick, in order to close up the column. After proceed- 
ing southwest, a few miles beyond the Catharine furnace, they 
came to the intersection of the Brock road, and turning to the 
right at a sharp angle, assumed a northwestern direction. When 
General Jackson reached the plank-road again, he quietly 
advanced the Stonewall Brigade down it, under General Paxton, 
with instructions to form across it at the junction of "the road 
which led ihence toward Germanna ford, so as to prevent egress 
at that place. He then -contmued his march, with the remainder 
of the corjjs, until he found himself in the old turnpike near 
Wilderness Run. He had marched fifteen miles, and three o'clock 
in the afternoon had arrived. He was six miles west of Chan- 
cellorsville, and upon precisely the opposite side of the enemy 
to that occupied by General Lee. He now addressed to him 
the following, which is the last of his ofiicial notes : 

* 

••Near 3, p. m., May 2ncl, 1863. 
*• General : — 

" The enemy has made a stand at Chancellor's, which is about 
two miles from Chancellorsville. I hope, so soon as practicable, 
to attack. 



G80 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

" I trust that an ever kind Providence will bless us with suc- 
cess. 

" Respectfully, 

"T. J. Jackson, Lieutenant- General. 
" General Robert E. Lee. 

" P. S. The leading division is up, and the next two appear 
to be well closed. T. J. J." 

The place here mentioned as Chancellor's, two miles west of 
Chanccllorsville, was the farm of Mclzi -Chancellor, which was 
embraced within the western wing of Hooker's defences, and 
occupied by the corps of Sigel, now commanded by General 
Howard. General Jackson found both the plank-road, and the 
old turnpike guarded on the west by the vigilant pickets of 
Stuart. Advancing to these outposts, he gained a glimpse of the 
position of the enemy, which convinced him that he had obtained 
the desired vantage gTOund from which to attack them. He 
therefore directed his column to advance across the old turnpike, 
and then to wheel to the eastward, so as to present a liue toward 
the foe. The open fields near the old Wilderness Tavern 
afforded him space in which to complete his array. He now 
formed his army in three parallel lines : the division of Rhodes 
in front, that of Colston next, and that of A. P. Hill in the rear. 
He detailed one or two picked batteries to advance along the 
turnpike, which marked the centre of his lines ; and such was 
the extent of the thickets into which he was about to plunge, that 
no position could be gained for his other artillery. Two hours 
were consumed by the issuing of orders, and the galloping of 
aides and orderlies, when, between five and six o'clock, ever}i;hiug 
was ready for the advance. The three lines swept grandly for- 
ward, at the word, in battle array, and speedily buried them- 
selves in the tangled forests. So dense were the thickets, that the 



THE ROUT OF THE FEDERALS. G81 

soldiers liacl their clotliing almost torn from tlieir bodies, and could 
only advance by creeping through the thickest spots ; but still 
the lines swept forward, in tolerable order, and with high enthu- 
siasm. General A. P. Hill, finding this toilsome march unneces- 
sary to support Rhodes, whose division had Colston just in their 
rear, was allowed to withdraw his men from line into column 
again, and thus advanced along the turnpike, leaving a part of 
its breadth open for the passage of artillery and ambulances, 
but ready to reinforce any part of the line which might waver. 

As the Confederates approached the little farms of Talley and 
Melzi Chancellor, after a march of two miles through the woods, 
they came upon the right wing of Hooker's army, in all the 
security of * unsuspicious indolence. Their little earthworks, 
which fronted the south, were taken in reverse, and the men 
were scattered about the fields and woods, preparing for their 
evening meal. With a wild hurra, the line of Rhodes burst 
upon them from the woods, and the first volley decided their 
utter rout. The second line, commanded by Colston, unable to 
restrain their impetuosity, rushed forward at the shout, pressed 
upon the first, filling up their gaps, and firing over their heads, 
so that thenceforward the two were almost merged into one, 
and advanced together, a dense and impetuous mass. For three 
miles the Federalists were now swept back by a resistless charge. 
Even the works which confronted the west afibrded them no 
protection ; no sooner were they manned by the enemy, than the 
Confederates dashed upon them with the bayonet, and the 
defenders were either captured or again put to flight. The battle 
was but a continued onward march, with no other pause than 
that required for the rectification of the line, disordered by tlie 
density of the woods. The eleven thousand German merce- 
naries of Howard fled almost without resistance, carrying away 
with them the troops sent to their support ; they did not pause 

86 



G82 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

in Hooker's cntrcnclicd camp, Ijiit dashing through his ■whole 
army in frantic terror, without muskets, without liats, they 
rushed toward the fords of the Rappahannock. Fugitives, 
armed men, ambulances, artillery, were mixed together in vast 
masses, all struggling madly to flee as rapidly as possible from 
the deadly volleys which were scourging their rear, and those 
terrible war-cries of the vengeful patriots. While these con- 
fused herds offered an unfailing mark for the bullets of the 
Confederates, they were able to make no effective reply. Hence 
the slaughter of the Federalists was heavy, and the loss of the 
assailants trifling. The ground moreover was left strewed with 
incalculable amounts of spoils. The lavish equipments with 
which the Federal Government fitted out its armies,' now fell a 
prey, in a moment, to the victors. Blankets, clothing, arms, 
ammunition, cooking utensils, food, almost covered the surface of 
the highwa}', and were thickly scattered though the fields and 
coppices for three miles. 

In this fashion General Jackson urged forward the attack 
until after nightfall. After the dispositions for the first attack 
were made, the only order given by him had been his favorite 
battle-cry: "Press forward." This was his message to every 
General, and his answer to every inquiry. As he uttered it, he 
leaned forward upon his horse, and waved his hand as though 
endeavoring, by its single strength, to urge forward his whole 
line. Never before had his pre-occupation of mind, and his 
insensibility to danger been so great. At every cheer from 
the front, which announced some new success, the smile of 
triumph flaslicd over his face, followed and banished immediately 
by the reverential gratitude, with which he raised his face and 
his right hand to the heavens in prayer and thanksgiving. It 
was evident that he regarded this as his greatest victory, and 
never before was he seen so frequently engaged in worship upon 



JACKSOiSr RE-FOEMS HIS LINE. 683 

the field. Eiglit o'clock arrived, and the moon was shedding a 
doubtful light tlii'ough the openings of the forest, but the 
darlaiess was sufficient to arrest the pursuit of the fugitives. 
The line of Rhodes was now within a mile of Chancellorsville, 
but still enveloped within the bushy woods which surrounded 
the entrenchments there; and they had no means of knowing 
what was the character of the ground, or of the defences 
before them. Their array had been much disordered by their 
rapid advance ; and now, by a species of common impulse, the 
whole line, finding no visible enemy, and no firing in their front, 
paused to rest. The men, leaving their places in the ranks, 
were clustering in groups, to discuss the triumphs of the 
evening, and many were reclining at the roots of the trees. 
They had now marched more than twenty miles since the 
morning, had fought over three miles of difiQcult ground, and 
their weariness demanded repose. General Jackson perceiving 
this, determined to relieve his front line, by replacing them with 
the fresh troops of A. P. Hill, who had closely followed up his 
advance, keeping the head of his columns a little behind the 
line of battle, upon both margins of the turnpike. He therefore 
•-tirected that General to file a part of his brigade to the right, 
and a part to the left of the highway, to replace those of Ehodes 
and Colston, which were to be withdrawn to the second line, as 
fast as the others were ready to take their places. But his 
vigilance was dissatisfied with the disorder to which the men 
in front had yielded ; he knew that the present quiet was but a 
lull in the storm of war; and that the completion of his own 
movement would be so ruinous to Hooker, it was impqssible 
that General could fail to make another attempt to arrest it. 
He therefore expected another collision, with fresh troops, and 
knew not when it might begin. 

It was just at this moment that the gallant Colonel Cobb, of 



684 LIFE OF LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSON. 

the 44tli Virginia regiment, in Colston's division, came to report 
to liim, that advancing through tlio woods on the right of the 
turnpike, a little space beyond the line where the Confederates 
had paused in their career, he had captured a number of pris- 
oners, and had also ascertained the existence of a strong barri- 
cade of timber, fronted by an ahattis which, beginning at the 
right margin of the road, seemed to run down a gentle, sinuous 
vale of the forest, an. indefinite distance, toward the south and 
east, and was now deserted by the JFederalists. (^This defence 
was, in fact, a part of the main circuit by which Hooker had en- 
closed his entrenched camp at Chancellorsvillc, and was now 
surrendered into General Jackson's hands, almost without a 
struggle. So complete were the results of his attack, the very 
citadel of Hooker was now in his grasp.) He found General 
Jackson near the road, busily engaged in correcting the partial 
disorder into which the men had fallen. Hiding along the lines, he 
was saying, " Men, get into line ! get into line ! Whose regiment is 
this ? Colonel, get your men instantly into line." He was almost 
unattended, and had obviously sent away his Staff to aid in corrcct- 
uia; the confusion, or to direct the advance of A. P. Hill's division 
to the front. Upon receiving the report of Cobb, he said to him, 
" Find General Rhodes, and tell him to occupy that barricade at 
once, with his troops." He added, " I need your help for a time ; 
this disorder must be corrected. As you go along the right, tell 
the troops, from me, to get into line, and preserve their order." 
He then busily resumed his efforts for the same object, and a 
moment after rode along the turnpike toward Chancellorsvillc, 
endeavoring to discover the intentions of the enemy. 

His anticipations were, indeed, verified at once. Hooker was 
just then advancing a powerful body of fresh troops, to endeavor 
to break the fatal cordon which General Jackson was drawing 
around his rear, and to escape from General Lee, who was 



JACKSON GOES TO THE FEOXT. 685 

pressing his front. He was pushing a strong battery along the 
highway, preceded by infantry skirmishers, and in front of Gen- 
eral Jackson's right, was sending a heavy line of infantry through 
the woods, to retake the all-important barricade. The latter, 
according to the usual perfidy of the enemy's tactics, was pre- 
ceded by a flag of truce, which attempted to amuse General 
Rhodes with some trumpery fable, until the enemy could creep 
upon him unprepared. Rhodes, instantly perceiving the cheat, 
directed him to be taken to General Jackson with his message ; 
and resumed the effort to man the barricade in accordance with 
his order. But the trick was partially successful. The men 
had not yet resumed their ranks, nor was the work fully occupied, 
before the Federal line of battle appeared upon the brow of the 
little hill within it, and poured a heavy volley upon the Confed- 
erates, at point blank distance. They replied, firing wildly, and 
made eiGforts to sustain the strife, but in a feeble and irrregular 
fashion. This combat upon the right was the signal for the 
resumption of the battle along the whole line ; and in its open- 
ing upon the tui-npike. General Jackson received a mortal 
wound. 

He had now advanced a hundred yards beyond his line of 
battle, evidently supposing that, in accordance with his constant 
orders, a line of skirmishers had been sent to the front, immedi- 
ately upon the recent cessation of the advance. He probably 
intended to proceed to the place where he supposed this line 
crossed the turnpike, to ascertain from them what they could 
learn concerning the enemy. He was attended only by a half 
dozen mounted orderlies, his signal ofiicer, Captain Wilbourne, 
with one of his men, and his aide. Lieutenant Morrison, who had 
just returned to him. General A. P. Hill, with his staff also 
proceeded immediately after him, to the front of the line, accom- 
panied by Captain Boswell of the Engineers, wlioni General 



G86 IJFE OP LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSON. 

Jackson had just detached to assist him. After the General and 
his escort had proceeded down tlic road a hundred yards, they 
were surprised by a volley of musketry from the right, which 
spread toward their front, until the bullets began to whistle 
among them, and struck several horses. This was, in fact, the 
advance of the Federal line assailing the barricade, wliich they 
were attempting to regain. General Jackson was now aware of 
their proximity, and perceived that there was no picket or skir- 
mislicr between him and his enemies. He therefore, turned^ to 
ride hurriedly back to his own troops ; and, to avoid the fii-e, 
which was, thus far, limited to the south side of the road, he 
turned into the woods upon the north side. It so happened that 
General Hill, with his escort, liad been du'ected by the same 
motive almost to the same spot. As the party approached within 
twenty paces of the Confederate troops, these, evidently mistak- 
ing them for cavalry, stooped, and delivered a deadly lire. So 
sudden and stunning was this volley, and so near at hand, that 
every horse which was not shot down, recoiled from it in panic, 
and turned to rush back, bearing their riders toward the 
approaching enemy. Several fell dead upon the spot, among 
them the amiable and courageous Boswell; and more were 
wounded. Among the latter was General Jackson. His right 
hand was penetrated by a ball, his left fore arm lacerated by 
another, and the same limb broken a little below the shoulder by 
a third, which not only crushed the bone, but severed the main 
artery. His horse also dashed, panic-stricken, toward the enemy, 
carrying him beneath the boughs of a tree which inflicted severe 
blows, lacerated his face, and almost dragged him from the sad- 
dle. His bridle hand was now powerless, but seizing the reins 
with the right hand, notwithstanding its wound, he arrested his 
career, and brought the animal back toward his own lines. Ho 
was followed by his faithful attendant, Captain Wilbournc, and 



HIS WOUNDS. 687 

his assistant, Wynii; who overtook him as he paused again in 
the turnpike, near the spot where h-e had received the fatal shots. 
The firing of the Confederates Jiad now been arrested by the 
officers : but the wounded and frantic horses were rushing, with- 
out riders, through the woods, and the ground was strewn with 
the dead and dying. Here General Jackson drew up his horse, 
and sat for an instant gazing toward his own men, as if in 
astonishment at their cruel mistake, and in doubt whether he 
should again venture to approach them. To the anxious in- 
quiries of Captain Wilbourne, he replied that he believed his 
arm was broken ; and requested him to assist him from his 
horse, and examine whether the wounds were bleeding danger- 
ously. But before he could dismount he sunk fainting into their 
arms, so completely prostrate, that they were compelled to dis- 
engage his feet from the stirrups. They now bore him aside a 
few yards into the woods north of the turnpike, to shield him 
from the expected advance of the Federalists ; and while Wynn 
was sent for an ambulance and surgeon, Wilbourne proceeded, 
supporting his head upon his bosom, to strip his mangled arm, 
and bind up his wound. The warm blood was flowing in a 
stream down his wrist ; his clothing impeded all access to its 
source, and nothing was at hand more efficient than a penknife, 
to remove the obstructions. But at this terrible moment, he saw 
General Hill, with the remnant of his staff, approaching -, and 
called to him for assistance. He, with his volunteer aide, Major 
Leigh, dismounted, and taking the body of the General into his 
arms, succeeded in reaching the wound, and synching the blood 
with a handkerchief. The swelling of the lacerated flesh had 
already performed this office in part. His two aides. Lieuten- 
ants Smith and Morrison, arrived at this moment, the former 
having been left at the rear to execute some orders, and the lat- 
ter having just saved himself, at the expense of a stunning fall, 



G88 LIFE OP LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSON. 

by leaping from his horse, as lie was carrying him, in uncontrol- 
able fright, into the enemy's ranks. Morrison, the General's 
brother by marriage, was agitated by grief; but Smith was full 
at once of tenderness, and of that clear self-possession, which is 
so valuable in the hour of danger. With the skilful direction of 
General Hill, they now effectually arrested the hemorrhage, and 
adjusted a sling to support the mangled arm. 

It was at this moment that two Federal skii-mishers ap- 
proached within a few feet of the spot where he lay, with their 
muskets cocked. They little knew what a prize was in their 
grasp : and when, at the command of General Hill, two orderlies 
arose from the kneeling group, and demanded their surrender, 
they seemed amazed at their nearness to their enemies, and 
yielded their arms without resistance. Lieutenant Morrison, sus- 
pecting from their approach that the Federalists must be near at 
hand, stepped out into the road to examine ; and by the light of 
the moon saw a field-piece pointed toward him, apparently not 
more than a hundred yards distant. Indeed it was so near that 
the orders given by the officers to the cannoneers could be dis- 
tinctly heard. Returning hurricdl}^, he announced that the ene- 
my were planting artillery in the road, and that the General 
must be immediately removed. General Hill now remounted, 
and hurried back to make his dispositions to meet this attack. 
In the combat which ensued he was himself wounded a few mo- 
ments after, and compelled to leave the field. No ambulance or 
litter was yet at hand, although Captain "Wilbourne had also 
been sent to seet them; and the necessity of an immediate 
removal suggested that they should bear the General away in 
their arms. To this he replied, that if they would assist him to 
rise, he could walk to the rear ; and ho was accordingly raised 
to his feet, and leaning upon the shoulders of Major Leigh and 
Lieutenant Smith, went slowly out into tlie highway, and toward 



FIDELITY OP HIS AIDES. 689 

his troops. The party was now met by a litter, which some one 
had sent from the rear ; and the General was placed upon it, and 
borne along- by two soldiers, and Lieutenants Smith and Morri- 
son. As they were placing him upon it, the enemy fired a volley 
of canister-shot up the road, which passed over their heads. 
But they had proceeded only a few steps before the discharge 
was repeated, with a more accurate aim. One of the soldiers 
bearing the litter was struck down, severely wounded ; and had 
not Major Leigh, who was walking beside it, broken his fall, the 
General would have been precipitated to the ground. He was 
placed again upon the earth ; and the causeway was now swept 
by a hurricane of projectiles of every species, before which it 
seemed that no living thing could survive. The bearers of the 
litter, and all the attendants, excepting Major Leigh and the 
General's two aides, left him, and fled into the woods on either 
hand, to escape the fatal tempest ; while the sufferer lay along 
the road, with his feet toward the foe, exposed to all its fury. 
It was now that his thi'ee faithful attendants displayed a heroic 
fidelity, which deserves to' go down with the immortal name of 
Jackson to future ages. Disdaining to save their lives by desert- 
ing their chief, they lay down beside him in the causeway, and 
sought to protect him as far as possible with their bodies. On one 
side was Major Leigh, and on the other Lieutenant Smith. Again 
and again was the earth around them torn with volleys of can- 
ister, while shells and minie balls flew hissiag over them, and 
the stroke of the iron hail raised sparkling flashes from the flinty 
gravel of the roadway. General Jackson struggled violently to 
rise, as though to endeavor to leave the road ; but Smith threw 
liis arm over him, and with friendly force held him to the earth, 
saying : " Sir, you must lie still ; it will cost you your life if you 
rise." He speedily acquiesced, and lay quiet ; but none of the 
four hoped to escape alive. Yet, almost by miracle, they were 

87 



690 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

uiiliarmecl; and, after a few moments, the Federalists, having 
cleared tlic road of all except tliis little party, ceased to fire along 
it, and directed their aim to another quarter. 

They now arose, and resumed their retreat, the General lean- 
ing upon his friends, and proceeding along the gutter at the 
margin of the highway, in order to avoid the troops who were 
again -hurrying to the front. Perceiving that he was recognized 
b}" some of them, they diverged still farther into the edge of the 
tliickct. It was here that General Pender of North Carolina, 
who had succeeded to the command of Hill's division upon the 
wounding of that officer, recognized General Jackson, and, after 
expressing his hearty sympathy for his sufferings, added, " My 
men are thrown into such confusion by this fire, that I fear I 
shall not be able to hold my ground." Almost fainting with 
anguish and loss of blood, he still replied, in a voice feeble but 
full of his old determination and authority, " General Pender, 
you must keep your men together, and hold your ground." This 
was the last military order ever given by Jackson ! How fit 
was the termination for such a career as his, and how expressive 
of the resolute purpose of his soul ! His bleeding country could 
do nothing better than to adopt this as her motto in her hour of 
trial, inscribe it on all her banners, and make it the rallying cry 
of all her armies. 

General Jackson now complained of faintness, and was again 
placed upon the litter ; and, after some difficulty, men were ob- 
tained to bear him. To avoid the enemy's fire, which was again 
sweeping the road, they made their way through the tangled 
brushwood, almost tearing his clothing from him, and lacerating 
his face, in their hurried progress. The foot of one of the men 
bearing his head was here entangled in a vine, and he fell pros- 
trate. The General was thus thrown heavily to the gi'ound 
upon his wounded side, inflicting painful bruises on liis body. 



HE IS CARRIED OFF THE FIELD. 691 

and intolerable agony on his mangled arm, and renewing tlie 
flow of blood from it. As they lifted him up, he uttered one 
piteous groan, — the only complaint which escaped his lips dur- 
ing the whole scene. Lieutenant Smith raised his head upon his 
bosom, almost fearing to see him expiring in his arms, and asked, 
" General, are you much hurt? " He replied, " No, Mr. Smith; 
don't trouble yourself about me." He was then replaced a sec- 
ond time upon the litter, and, under a continuous shower of 
shells and cannon-balls, borne a half mile farther to the rear, 
when an ambulance was found, containing his chief of artillery. 
Colonel Crutchfield, who was also wounded. In this he was 
placed, and hurried towards the field hospital near Wilderness 
Eun. As the vehicle passed the house of Melzi Chancellor, Dr. 
M'G-uire met the party. Colonel Pendleton, the faithful adjutant 
of General Jackson, upon ascertaining the misfortune of his chief, 
had taken upon himself the task of seeking him, and bringing him 
to the General's aid. Indeed, one of the first requests made by 
the latter was to ask for this well-tried friend; and he was, 
therefore, summoned from the rear, where he was busily engaged 
organizing the relief for the numerous wounded from the battle. 
Upon meeting the sad cavalcade. Dr. M'Guire obtained a candle, 
and sprung into the ambulance to examine the wound. He found 
the General almost pulseless, but the hemorrhage had again 
ceased. Some alcoholic stimulant had been anxiously sought 
for him, but hitherto only a few drops could be obtained. Now, 
through the activity of the Rev. Mr. Vass, a chaplain in the 
Stonewall Brigade, a sufficient quantity of spirits was found, and 
the patient was freely stimulated. They then resumed their way 
to the field hospital near Wilderness Run, Dr. M'Guire support- 
ing the General as he sat beside him in the carriage. To his 
anxious inquiries he replied that he was now somewhat revived, 
but that =5fiveral times he had felt as though he were about to 



692 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXEKAL JACKSON. 

die. This Lc said in a tone of perfect calmness. It was, doubt- 
less, the literal truth, and during the removal he was indeed 
vibrating upon the very turn between life and death. The 
artery of his left arm was severed ; and, in consequence of the 
inexperience and distress of his affectionate assistants, and yet 
more of the horrible confusion of the battle, he had nearly bled 
to death before his wound was stanched. Arriving at the hos- 
pital, he was tenderly removed to a tent which had been erected 
for him ; where he was laid in a camp bed, and covered with 
blankets, in an atmosphere carefully warmed. Here he speedily 
sank into a deep sleep, which showed the thorough prostration 
of Ms energies. 

The melancholy scene which has now been simply and exactly 
described, occupied but a few minutes ; for the events followed 
each other with stunning rapidity. The report of the discovery 
of the deserted barricade by Colonel Cobb, the order to General 
Rhodes to occupy it, the attempt to restore the order to his line 
of battle, the advance of the General and his «^"oort down the 
road, his collision with the advancing enemy, his hurried retreat, 
and the fatal fire of his own men, all followed each other almost 
as rapidly as they are here recited. While he lay upon the 
ground, assisted at first only by Captain "Wilbourne and his 
man, and afterwards by General A. P. Hill and the officers of 
the two escorts, the battle was again joined between Hooker and 
the Confederates ; and it was just as the "difficult removal of the 
General was made, that it raged through its short but furious 
course. General Hill had scarcely flown to assume the com- 
mand of his line, in order to resist the onset, and protect Gen- 
eral Jackson from capture, when he was himself struck down 
with a violent contusion, and compelled to leave the field, sur- 
rendering the direction of affairs to Brigadier-Generals Rhodes 
and Pender. Colonel Crutchfield, cliicf-of-artillcry, and his 



JACKSON S DEMEAXOR. i)\)6 

assistant, Major Rogers, attempting to make an effective reply to 
the cannonade which swept the great road, were both severely 
wounded. In the darkness and confusion, the Federalists re- 
gained their barricade, and pushed back the right of the Con- 
federates a short distance ; but here their successes ended ; and 
the brigades of Hill stubbornly held their ground in the thickets 
near the turnpike. The fire now gradually died away into a 
fitful skirmish, which was continued at intervals all nigliL, with- 
out result on either side. 

While General Jackson lay bleeding upon the ground, he dis- 
played several traits very characteristic of his nature. Amidst 
all his sufferings, he was absolutely uncomplaining; save when 
his agonizing fall wrung a groan from his bl'east. It was only 
in answer to the questions of his friends, that he said, '• I be- 
lieve my arm is broken," and, "It gives me severe pain;" but 
this was uttered in a tone perfectly calm and self-possessed. 
When he was asked whether he was hurt elsewhere, he replied : 
" Yes, in the right hand." (He seemed to be unconscious that 
the other fore-arm was shattered by a third ball : nor did the 
surgeons themselves advert to it, until they examined it in pre- 
paiing for the amputation.) When he was asked whether his 
right hand should not also be bound up, he replied : " No, never 
mind ; it is a trifle." Yet two of the bones were broken, and 
the palm was almost perforated by the bullet ! To the many 
exclamations touching the source of his misfortune, he answered 
decisively, but without a shade of passion : " All my wounds 
were undoubtedly from my own men;" and added that they 
were exactly simultaneous. When he was informed, in answer 
to his first demand for the assistance of Dr. M'Guire, that that 
officer must be now engaged in his onerous duties far to the 
rear, and could not be immediately brought to him, he said to 
Captain Wilbourne, "Then I wish you to get me a skilful 



694 LIFE OP LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSON. 

surgeon." On tlic arrival of General Hill, the anxious inquii'y 
•^as made of liim, -v^'licre a surgeon could be most quickly found, 
lie stated tliat Dr. Barr, an assistant surgeon in one of the regi- 
ments of Pender, wliich had just come to the front, was near at 
hand; and this gentleman being called, promptly answered. 
General Jackson now repeated in a whisper, to General Hill, 
the question : " Is he a skilful surgeon ? " He answered in sub- 
stance, that he stood high in his brigade ; and that at most, he 
did not propose to hare him do anything until Dr. McGuire 
arrived, save the necessary precautionary acts. To this General 
Jackson replied: "Very good;" and Dr. Barr speedily pro- 
cured a tourniquet to apply above the wound : but finding the 
blood no longer flowing, postponed its application. ' When 
General Jackson's field-glass and haversack were removed, they 
were preserved by Captain Wilbourne. The latter was found 
to contain no refreshments : its only contents were a few ofiQcial 
papers, and two Gospel-tracts. No sooner had friends began to 
gather around him, than numerous suggestions were made, con- 
cerning the importance of concealing his fall from his troops. 
"While he was lying upon General Hill's breast, that officer com- 
manded that no one should tell the men he was wounded. Gen- 
eral Jackson opened his eyes, and looking fixedly upon his Aides 
Smith and Morrison, said : " Tell them simply that you have a 
wounded Confederate officer." He recognized, on the one hand, 
the importance of concealment ; but on the other hand, he was 
anxious that the truth should not be violated in any degree, 
upon his account. With these exceptions, he lay silent and 
passive in the arms of liis friends ; his soul doubtless occupied 
with silent prayer. As he was led past the column of Pender, 
the unusual attention paid him excited the lively curiosity of the 
men. Many asked : " Whom have you there ? " and some made 
vigorous exertions to gain a view of his face. NotAvithstanding 



ARM AMPUTATED. 695 

the efforts of Captain Wilbourne to shield him from their view, 
one or two recognized him ; and exclaimed, their faces blanched 
with horror and grief: " Great God ! it is General Jackson." 
Thus the news of the catastrophe rapidly spread along the 
lines ; but the men believed that his wounds were slight : and 
their sorrow only made them more determined. 

About midnight, Dr. M^Guire summoned as assistants, Drs. 
Coleman, Black and Walls, and watched the pulse of the Gen- 
eral for such evidences of the re-action of his exhausted powers, as 
would permit a more thorough dealing with his wound. Perceiv- 
ing that the animal heat had returned, and the pulsations had 
resumed their volume, they aroused him ; and on examining the 
whole extent of his injuries, were convinced beyond all doubt, 
that his left arm should be immediately removed. Dr. M'Guire 
now explained to him that it seemed necessary to amputate his 
arm ; and inquired whether he was willing that it should be 
done immediately. He replied, without tremor: "Dr. M'Guire; 
do for me what you think best ; I am resigned to whatever is 
necessary." Preparations were then made for the work. Clilo- 
roform was administered by Dr. Coleman ; Dr. M'Guire, with a 
steady and deliberate hand, severed the mangled limb from the 
shoulder ; Dr. Walls secured the arteries, and Dr. Black watched 
the pulse; while Lieutenant Smith stood by, holding the lights. 
The General seemed insensible to pain, although he spoke once 
or twice, as though conscious, saying with a placid and dreamy 
voice: "Dr. M^Guire; I am lying very comfortably." The ball 
was also extracted from his right hand, and the wound was 
dressed. The surgeons then directed Smith to watch beside him 
the remainder of the night; and after an interval of half an 
hour, to arouse him, in order that he might drink a cup of coffee. 
During this interval, he lay perfectly quiet, as though sleeping: 
but when he was called, awoke promptly, and in full possession 



696 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

of his faculties. He received the coffee, drank it with appetite, and 
remarked that it was vciy good and refreshing. This was, indeed, 
the first nourishment which he had taken since Friday evening. 
He now looked at the stump of his arm ; and comprehending its 
loss fully, asked Mr. Smith: " Were you here ? " (meaning when 
the operation . was performed.) He then, after a moment's 
silence, inquired whether he liad said anything when under the 
power of the chloroform ; and continued, after being satisfied our 
this point, in substance thus : " I have always thought it wrong 
to administer chloroform, in cases w^here there is a probability 
of immediate death. But it was, I think, the most delightful 
physical sensation I ever enjoyed. I had enough consciousness 
to know what was doing ; and at one time thought I heard the 
most delightful music that ever greeted my ears. I believe it 
was the sawing of the bone. But I should dislike above all 
things, to enter eternity in such a condition." His meaning evi- 
dently was, that he would not wish to be uslicred into that spir- 
itual existence, from the midst of sensations so thoroughly 
physical and illusory. He afterwards exclaimed to other friends ; 
" What an inestimable blessing is chloroform to the sufferer ! " 
His condition now appeared to be every way hopeful ; and Mr. 
Smith exhorted him to postpone conversation, and to resign him- 
self to sleep. He acquiesced in this, and being well wrapped 
up, soon fell into a quiet slumber, which contmued until nine 
o'clock in the Sabbath morning. 

Leaving him to his much needed sleep, the narrative will now 
return to the history of the great battle which he had so 
gloriously begun ; that the interest of the reader in it may be 
briefly satisfied. About dark on Saturday evening. General 
Jackson had directed Brigadier-General Pender, to send him a 
regiment for a special service. The IGth North Carolina, 
Colonel M'Elroy, was sent. Jackson commanded him to 



GENERAL STUART IN TEMPORARY COMMAND. G97 

accompany a squadron of cavalry detached by General Stuart, 
to Ely's Ford, where they would find a coi-jjs of Federal troops 
encamped; to approach them as nearly as possible, and at a 
preconcerted signal, to fire three volleys into them, with loud 
cheers, and then make their way back to their Brigade. 
Colonel M'Elroy reached the enemy's encampment about 
midnight, and carried out his instructions to the letter. He 
returned to the field of battle at three o'clock in the morning ; 
and remained for a time ignorant alike of the reasons and 
results of this strange proceeding. The Federal officers of 
Reynolds' coijjs at last revealed it. They stated that while 
resting for the night at Ely's Ford, on their way to Chancellors- 
ville, they were so furiously attacked by the " Rebels " in the 
darkness, that their leader arrested his march, and commenced 
fortifying his position; and in this work the Sabbath was 
consumed. Had this large corps arrived at the main scene of 
battle that morning, the odds already so fearful against the 
Confederates, might have become overpowering. But by this 
adroit mancouvre they were detamed where they were wholjy 
useless. Such was the last of the strokes, by which the ubi- 
quitous Jackson was accustomed to astonish and baffle his foes. 
Upon the retirenient of General Hill from the field, a hurried 
consultation was held between Colonel Pendleton, the acting 
adjutant of the corps, and the remaining Generals, touching the 
command of the troops. The night was passing away, and they 
well knew that the morning must bring a fierce renewal of the 
struggle ; or all that had ^ been won would be lost. Brigadier 
General Rhodes, commanding the former division of D. H. Hill, 
was found to. be the senior officer upon the field ; and his 
modesty, with the lack of acquaintanceship between him and 
the army, made him concur in the suggestion, that Major- Gen- 
eral Stuart should be sent for, and requested to assume the 

88 



GO 8 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

direction of affairs until the pleasure of the Commander-in-Chief 
should be Icnown. This measure was therefore adopted. It 
has been said that he was selected by General Jackson, to com- 
plete the battle after he was himself disabled. This is an error, 
lie was too strict in his obedience to the rules and proprieties 
of the service, to transcend under any circumstances, his powers 
as the commander of a corps ; and he knew that all his authority 
could do, was to transmit his functions to the General next in 
rank in his own command. If any other disposition was to be 
made of them, ho knew that it must be done by an authority 
higher than his own. But when Colonel Pendleton, the next 
morning, reported to him the assumption of temporary command 
by General Stuart he cheerfully acquiesced. In reply to the 
request of Stuart that he would communicate, through Pendleton, 
his plans for the second day, he answered, that he preferred to 
leave everything to his own judgment. This reply was an 
eminent instance of his wisdom. He knew, on the one hand, 
that as all the reconnoissanccs on which he himself had acted, 
hid been made by General Stuart, that oflEicer was fully possessed 
of the enemy's attitude. But on the other hand, he was not now 
informed what changes in the posture of affairs miglit have 
occurred, which, if he were on the field, might modify his plans. 
To seem to enjoin upon General Stuart the execution of all his 
purposes of yesterday, might therefore impose on him mischiev- 
ous trammels. He well knew, moreover, that the wisdom of the 
methods adopted by himself, depended in part on his own prestige, 
his moral power over his men, his celerity in action, the momentum 
of his tremendous will ; properties in which no other leader 
might be able to imitate liim. He therefore left General Stuart 
to adopt his own plan of battle, believing, what was doubtless 
true, that an inferior conception of that commander's mind, 
applied by him, would be more successful than the impracticable 



HE DOES NOT INTERFERE WITH STUART's COMMAND. G99 

effort to unite the plan of one, with the execution of an- 
other. 

But both General Stuart and General Rhodes proved them- 
selves worthy of the command : and both of them followed theii* 
great exemplar to a soldier's grave, in the subsequent campaigns 
of 1864. The brilliant execution of General Jackson's 'orders 
by Rhodes at Chancellorsville, won his warm applause ; and he 
declared that his commission as Major-General should date from 
the 2nd of May : when, with one division, he drove before him 
the whole right wing of Hooker for three hours. This purpose 
of General Jackson the Government fulfilled immediately after 
his death; and General Rhodes was promoted and placed in 
permanent command of the division. He continued to lead this 
with consummate gallantry and skill, until the disastrous battle 
of Winchester, in the autumn of 1864:; when he fell at its head, 
in the execution of an attack against the enemy as splendid and 
as successful as that of Chancellorsville. And with his fall vic- 
tory departed from the Confederate banners, to perch upon those 
of the oppressors. 

But we are not left in doubt concerning General Jackson's 
own designs. Speaking afterward to his friends, he said that if 
he had had an hour more of daylight, or had not been wounded, 
he should have occupied the outlets toward Ely's and United 
States fords, as well as those on the west. (It has been already 
explained that of the four roads diverging from Chancellorsville, 
the o]ie which leads north, after proceeding for a mile and a half 
m that direction, turns northwestward, and divides into two, the 
left hand leading to Ely's, and the right to United States ford. 
And the point of their junction, afterwards so carefully fortified 
by Hooker, was on Saturday night entirely open.) General 
Jackson proposed, therefore, to move still farther to his left, dur- 
ing the night, and occupy that point. He declared that if he had 



700 LIFE OF LIEDT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

been able to do so, the dispersion or capture of Hooker's army 
"u^ould have been certain. " For," said he, '•' my men sometimes 
fail to drive the enemy from their position ; but the enemy are 
never able to drive my men from theirs." It has already been 
seen, that in the confusion of his fall, aa important vantage- 
ground; won by him almost without loss, was forfeited ; and it 
was necessary to fight over this ground again on the morrow. 
General Stuart now departed from the plans of General. Jackson, 
by extending his right rather than his left, so as to approximate 
the Confederate troops on the southeast of Chancellorsville, 
under the immediate command of General Lee. Thus, the 
weight of his attack was thrown against the southwest side of 
Hooker's position. General Jackson would rather have rVown 
it against the northwest. But the true design of the latter was 
to assume the defensive for a few hours, on Sabbath morning, 
after occupying both the Orange turnpike, and the road to Ely's 
ford. He purposed to stand at bay there, and receive, amidst 
the dense thickets, the attack, which he knew this occupation of 
his line of retreat would force upon Hooker ; while General Lee 
thundered upon his other side. Then, after permitting him to 
break his strength in these vain assaults, he would have advanced 
upon his disheartened masses, over ground defended by no 
works ; and Hooker would have been crushed between the upper 
and the nether mill-stones. To comprehend the plausibility of 
this design, it must be remembered that Chancellorsville, with its 
few adjoining farms, was an island, completely environed by a 
sea of forests, through whose tangled depths infantry could 
scarcely march in line ; and the passage of carriages was impos- 
sible. Of the four roads which centred at the Villa, General 
Lee held two, the old turnpike, and the plank-road, leading 
toward Fredericksburg. General Jackson proposed to occupy 
the other two. Had this been done, the strong defence of the 



MESSAGES TO GENERAL LEE. 701 

surrounding woods, in which Hooker trusted, would have •been 
his ruin; he would have found his iitiaginary castle his prison* 
The necessity which compelled him again to take the aggressive 
in the leafy woods, would have thrown the advantage vastly to 
General Jackson ; by rendering the powerful Federal artillery, 
m which they so much trusted, a cypher, and by requiring the 
Federals to come to close quarters with the terrible Confederate 
infantry. And this was a work always more dreaded by them, 
than the meetmg of a "bear bereaved of her whelps." But on 
the southwest side of his position, within the open farm of 
Chancellor, Hooker had constructed a second' and interior line 
of works, upon the brow of a long declivity, consisting of a 
row of lunettes pierced for artillery, and of rifle-pits. General 
Stuart's line of battle, after running the barricade, once before 
won by General Jackson, and emerging from the belt of woods 
which enveloped it, found themselves confronted by these works, 
manned by numerous batteries; and hence the cruel loss at 
which the splendid victory of Sunday was won. 

The Brigadiers of General Jackson's coiys, after determining 
to offer the temporary command to General Stuart, sent Captain 
Wilbournc to General Lee, to announce what had been done, 
and to request that he would himself come to that side and 
assume the direction of affairs. That officer, accompanied by 
Captain Hotchkiss, reached the cluster of pines east of Chancel- 
lorsville, where he lay, before the break of day, and they an- 
nounced themselves to his Chief-of-Staflf. They found the General 
lying upon the ground, beneath a thick pine-tree ; and he at once 
requested them to come to him and tell the news. They related 
the incidents of the battle, and described the glorious victory j 
but when they told the wounding of their General, he said, after 
a pause, in which he was struggling to suppress his emotion, 
''All! any victory is dearly bought which deprives us of the 



702 LIFE OF LIEUT. -GENERAL JACKSON. 

services of Jackson, even for a short time.*' When reminded 
that General Rhodes vras*now the senior officer in the corps, he 
said he was a gallant, efficient, and energetic officer. But he 
acquiesced in the selection of General Stuart to lead the troops 
on that day, and, after a multitude of inquiries, called his adju- 
tant to write instructions for him. He also dictated that gener- 
ous note to General Jackson, which has conferred equal honor 
on its author and its recipient, and which deserves to be im- 
mortalized along with the fame of the two noble men. It was 
in these words.: — 

" General : I have just received your note, informing me that 
you were wounded. I cannot express my regret at the occur- 
rence. Could I have directed events, I should have chosen, for 
the good of the country, to have been disabled in your stead. 

" I congratulate you upon the victory which is due to your 
skill and energy. 

" Most truly yours, 

(Signed) «R. E. Lee, General^ 

One of the messengers then informed him that General Jack- 
son, after his wounding, had only expressed this thought con- 
cerning the future management of the campaign : that " the 
enemy should be pressed in the morning." General Lee replied, 
" Those people shall be pressed immediately " ; arose, and in a 
few moments was in the saddle, and busy with his dispositions 
for attack. Meanwhile, General Stuart, on his side, brought for- 
A\'ard the Stonewall Brigade from the junction of the Orange and 
Culpepper plank-roads, and joined it to his line of battle. The 
remainder of the night was spent in busy preparation. "When 
the light appeared, both wings of the Confederate army assumed 
the aggressive, and advanced against the Federal lines. General 
Lee thundered from the east and south, and General Stuart from 



BATTLE OF SUNDAY. 703 

the west. The latter, especially, hurled his infantry impetuously 
against their enemies, and a furious- and bloody struggle ensued. 
IVenty-one thousand men now composed the whole of Jackson's 
corps present upon the field ,' and these, assisted by the two divis- 
ions of M'Laws and Anderson, now assailed eighty thousand. 
In three hours, seven thousand men, one-third of the whole num- 
ber, were killed and wounded from the corps. But the enemy 
were steadily driven frojn every work, with frightful losses in 
killed, wounded, and prisoners, until they took refuge in a new 
line of .entrenchments, covering the United States ford. Seven 
thousand captives, forty thousand muskets, and a cjuantity of 
spoil almost incredible fell into the hands of the conquerors. 
When the general onset was ordered by Stuart, the Stonewall 
Brigade advanced with the cry, " Charge ; and remember 
Jackson ! " Even as they moved from their position, their 
General, Paxton, his friend and former adjutant, was struck dead 
where he stood ! His men rushed forward, unconscious of his 
absence, and, without other, leader than the name which formed 
their battle-cry, swept everything before them. 

The sequel of the campaign of Chancellorsville may now be 
related in a few words. While this great struggle was raging 
there. General Sedgwick retired to the north bank of the Rap- 
pahannock, and laying down his bridges again opposite to Fred- 
ericksburg, on Sunday morning crossed into the town, and with 
one corps captured Marye's Hill by a surprise. His other corps 
were despatched, through Stafford, to the support of Hooker, 
while he retained about eighteen thousand men. General Early 
now confronted Marye's Hill on another line, while Sedgwick, 
leaving a detachment to hold him in check, marched westward 
to open his way to Hooker, at Chancellorsville. But the fate 
of that General had been already sealed. General Lee was 
now at liberty to send a part of his force to meet Sedgwick ; so 



704 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSOX, 

that on Monday, he found himself confronted and arrested in his 
march by his troops, while General Early re-captured Marye's 
TTill, and cut off his retreat toward Fredericksburg*. Nothing now 
remained for him save a retreat across the river at Banks's 
Ford, — a point between that town and Hooker's position, — 
which, by the aid of his artillery upon the northern bank, he 
ciiected, though not without heavy loss. The next day, his chief 
also made preparation to retire ; and during the night of Tues- 
day, withdrew the remainder of his army. Thus ended the 
invasion, and the short career of Hooker as a commander. His 
cavalry, which had met with slight resistance, had penetrated 
as far south as the Elver James, which they reached fifty miles 
above Richmond. Thence they spread themselves downward 
through the country, and some detachments had the audacity to 
venture within ten miles of the city. They caused temporary 
interruptions in the Central and Fredericksburg Railroads^ and 
the James River Canal; and then, upon hearing of Hooker's 
disasters, retired precipitately, having effected no other result 
than a villanous plundering of the peaceful inhabitants. 

The short campaign of ChanccUorsville was tlic most brilliant 
of all which General Lee had hitherto conducted, and stamped 
his Tame as that of a commander of transcendent courage and 
ability. With forty-five thousand men, he had met and defeated 
one hundred and twenty-five thousand, who were equipped for 
their onset with everything which lavish wealth, careful disci- 
pline, and deliberate preparation, could provide. He had in- 
flicted on them a total loss nearly equal to his whole army, had 
captured enough small arms and camp equipage to furnish forth 
every man in his command, and, in precisely a week, had Imrled 
back the fragments of this multitudinous hoit to its starting 
point, baffled arid broken. His line of defence was successfully 
turned on his right and left, by an adroit movement; his commu- 



RESULTS EVINCE LEE'S GREATNESS. 705 

nications severed ; and his little army seemingly placed witliin 
the jaws of destruction. But with an impregnable equanimity, 
he had awaited the full development of his adversary's designs ; 
and then, disregarding for the time those parts of his assault 
which his wisdom showed him were not vital, had concentrated 
his chief strength upon the important point, and with a towering 
courage which no odds could appal, had assailed his gigantic 
adversary on his vulnerable side with resistless fury. • How 
much of the credit of this unexampled success is due to the 
assistance of General Jackson, has already been indicated. But 
the history would be incomplete if it failed to refute the state- 
ment, which has been made by some of the pretended assertors 
of Jackson's fame ; that the victories of Lee were duo wholly 
to his military genius, and ceased when he fell. The reputation 
of Jackson does not need to be supported by these invidious 
follies. The Commander-in-Cliief was the first to recogTiize, 
with unrivalled grace and magnanimity, his obligations to Jack- 
son's valued assistance. But he fell in the midst of the struggle, 
and Lee conducted it to its close with the same skill, genius, and 
happy audacity, with which it was commenced. It was the glory 
of Virginia that, superior to the lioness, which rears but one 
young lion, her fruitful breasts could nourish at once the gTeat- 
ness of more than one heroic son. 

89 



706 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 



CHAPTER XX. 

DEATH AXD BURIAL, 

The history of Jackson now turns finally from the camp and 
the battle-field, to the sacred quiet of the sick room, and the 
dying bed. The far difierent scenes which are to be unfolded, 
may be appropriately introduced by a reference to the calm and 
thorough acquiescence of General Jackson in his sudden help- 
lessness. So eager and determined a spirit as his might have 
been expected to chafe at his enforced inactivity at such a time. 
It might be expected that he would now be seen, like an 
eagle with broken pinion, beating against the bars of his cage, 
with a tumultuous struggle to soar again into the storm-cloud 
which was his native aii\ Such anticipations did injustice to 
the Christian temper which he constantly cultivated. To the 
amazement of his own nearest friends, from the moment he felt 
the hand of Providence laid upon liis efibrts, in the shape of 
those wounds, he dismissed all the cares of command, and the 
heat of his soul sank iuto a sweet and placid calm. He who, 
just before, seemed to be pursuing ^dctory with a devouring 
hunger, was now all acquiescence. He cast upon God every 
anxiety for his country, and seemed unconscious of the grand 
designs which, the day before, were burning in his heart. When 
he awoke from his long and quiet slumber on the Sabbath morn- 
ing, the distant sounds of a furious cannonade told his experi- 
enced car, that a great battle was again raging. But the 



Jackson's christian submission. 707 

thouglit did not quicken his pulse, nor draw from him a single 
expression of restlessness. lie waited for news of the result 
with full faith in God, and in the valor of liis army, only express- 
ing such anxieties as an affectionate female miglit feel, for the 
safety of his comrades in arms. 

His first act, after receiving refreshments, was to request 
Lieut. Morrison to go to Richmond, and bring Mrs. Jackson to 
his bedside. He then admitted his chaplain. Rev. Mr. Lacy, who 
had just arrived, and learned his misfortune, to his tent. As he 
entered, and saw the stump where the left arm had lately been, 
he exclaimed in distress, " Oh, General ! what a calamity ! " 
Jackson first thanked him, with his usual courtesy, for his sym- 
pathy, and then proceeded, with marked deliberation and empha- 
sis, as though delivering his Christian testimony touching God's 
dealing with him, to speak in substance thus ; and at a length 
which was unusual with his taciturn habits. "You see me 
severely wounded, but not depressed ; not unhappy. I believe 
that it has been done according to God's holy will, and I acquiesce 
entirely in it. You may think it strange ; but you never saw me 
more perfectly contented than I am to-day ; for I am sure that 
my Heavenly Father designs this affliction for my good. I am 
perfectly satisfied, that either in this life, or in that which is to 
come, I shall discover that what is now regarded as a calamity, 
is a blessing. And if it appears a great calamity, (as it surely 
will be a great inconvenience, to be deprived of my arm,) it 
will result in a great blessing. I can wait, until God, in his own 
time, shall make known to me the object he has in thus afflicting 
me. But why should I not rather rejoice in it as a blessing, and 
not look on it as a calamity at all ? If it were in my power to 
replace my arm, I would not dare to do it, unless I could know 
it was the will of my Heavenly Father." 

He then spoke, in answer to inquiries, of all the incidents of 



708 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

liis fall, with entire freedom and quiet. After a little lie added, 
that he thought when he fell from the litter, that he should die 
upon the field, and gave himself up into the hands of his Heav- 
enly Father without a fear. He declared that he was in posses- 
sion of perfect peace, while thus expecting immediate death. " It 
has been," he said, "a precious experience to me, that I was 
brought face to face with death, and found all was well. I then 
learned an important lesson, that one who has been the subject 
of converting grace, and is the child of God, can, in the midst 
of the severest sufferings, fix the thoughts upon God and heav- 
enly things, and derive great comfort and peace : but, that one 
who had never made his peace with God would be unable to 
control his mind, under such sufferings, so as to understand 
properly the way of salvation, and repent and believe on Clu^ist. 
I felt that if I had neglected the salvation of my soul before, 
^ would have been too late then." 

These are nearly the exact words, in which this valuable wit- 
ness was borne by General Jackson ; for the minister, impressed 
with their solemn weight, charged his memory with them, and 
speedily committed them to writing. It is needless to moralize 
upon them, in order that their lesson may be felt by every reader. 
The General was disposed to speak yet more upon these themes ,; 
but acquiesced in the friendly caution of his nurse and physician, 
and remained for a long time in perfect quiet. 

About eleven o'clock, a. m.. Captain Douglass, liis Assistant 
Inspector, arrived from the field with definite news of the victory, 
and taking his faithful nurse, Lieutenant Smith aside, detailed 
such things as he thought would most interest the General. The 
latter went into the tent, and recited them to him, relating, among 
other things tlie magnificent onset of the Stonewall Brigade. 
General Stuart had gone to them at the crisis of the battle, and 
pointing out to them the work which he wished them to do, had 



HIS REMARKS ON THE VICTORY. 709 

commanded them to "charge and remember Jackson ! " Where- 
upon they had sprmig forward, and driving before them three- 
fold numbers with irresistible enthusiasm, had decided the great 
da}'. The General listened with glistening eyes, and after a 
strong effort to repress liis tears said ; " It was just like them 
to do so; just like them. They are a noble body of men." 
Smith replied; "They have indeed behaved splendidly; but 
you can easily suppose, General, that it was not without a loss 
of many valuable men." His anxiety was immediately aroused ; 
and he asked quickly : " Have you heard of any one that is 
killed ? " . Said Smith, " Yes sir ; I am sorry to say, they have 
lost their commander." He exclaimed : " Paxton ? Paxton ? " 
Smith. — "Yes sir, he has fallen." Thereupon he turned his face 
to the wall, closed his eyes, and remained a long time quiet, 
laboring to suppress his emotiou. He then, without any other 
expression of his own sense of bereavement, began to speak in a 
serious and tender strain of the genius and virtues of that officer. 
Smith said that Mr. Lacy had talked confidentially with Gen- 
eral Paxton about his spiritual interests, had found him by no 
means the stranger, that some supposed him, to the religion of 
the heart, and believed him a regenerate man. Jackson replied, 
in a tone of high satisfaction : " That's good ; that's good !" It 
may be added in confirmation of this judgment, that the last oc- 
cupation of General Paxton on the battle-field, after he had 
nlaced his regiments in position, was to employ the interval of 
leisure in reading his New Testament ; and that as he received 
the order to carry them into action, he replaced the book in 
his pocket, and accompanied his command to move, with a brief 
exhortation to those around him, to entrust their safety into the 
hand of the Almighty, in the faithful performance of theii- duty. 
It was by this Christian courage, that the victories of the Con- 
federacy were won. 



710 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JAOKSOX. 

General Jackson now dkccted Lieutenant Smith to obtain 
materials for -vrriting, and dictated to liim a note to General 
Lcc. In the most unpretending words, he stated that he had 
been disabled by his wounds, and had accordingly demitted his 
command to the General next him in rank, A, P. Hill. He 
then congratulated the Commander-in-Chief upon the great vic- 
tory which God had that day vouchsafed to his arms. He 
received soon after the note of General Lee, which was given 
above. When this y^as read to him, he was evidently much 
gratified; and after a little pause, said: " General Lee is very 
kind : but he should give the glory to God." At a later hour he 
remarked : " Our movement yesterday was a great success : 
I think, the most successful military movement of my life. But 
I expect to receive far more credit for it than I deserve. Most 
men will think that I had planned it all from the first ; but it 
was not so — I simply took advantage of circumstances as they 
were presented to me in the providence of God. I feel that His 
hand led me : Let us give Him all the glory." These words 
undoubtedly give the most exact representation of the character 
of his strategy. While no commander was ever more pains- 
taking in his forecast, none was ever fuller of ready resource, or 
more prompt to modify his plans according to the new circum- 
stances which emerged. And when he was once possessed of 
the posture of affairs, his decision was as swift as it was correct. 
The plan of attacking Hooker from the west was conceived and 
matured on the evening of Friday, almost in a moment. At that 
time he met General Stuart at the old furnace in front of Chan- 
ccllorsviUe ; he gained a view thence of the comparative altitude 
of that place; he saw the position of the Federal batteries 
which Stuart was then engaging ; and, at a glance, divined thence 
the disposition of Hooker's forces ; he learned the absence of 
the hostile cavalry; and the friendly screen of forests which 



JACKSON KEMOVES TO GUINEA'S. 711 

surrounded Cliancellorsville was described to him. It was then 
that his decision was made ; and after a few moments anxious 
conference with General Stuart, he rode rapidly back to seek 
General Lee, and to communicate his conclusion to him. 

During the Sabbath, General Lee sent word to him that he 
regarded the Wilderness as so exposed to the insults of the Fed- 
eral cavalry, that it would be prudent to remove to Guinea's 
Station as soon as possible. Dr. M'Guire therefore determined 
to attempt the journey on the morrow. The General hoped, 
after resting there for a day or two, to proceed to Ashland, a 
rural village on the same railroad, twelve miles from Richmond, 
and thence to his beloved Lexington. He dreaded the bustle of 
the capital, and sighed for the quiet of his home ; where, he said, 
the pure mountain air would soon heal his wounds, and invigor- 
ate his exhausted body. On Monday morning he appeared so 
exceedingly well, that it was determined to attempt the journey. 
A mattress was placed in an ambulance, and he was laid upon 
it, with every appliance for his comfort which could be devised. 
Dr. M'Guire took his place within, by his side, while Lieutenant 
Smith rode near, and Mr. Hotchkiss, with a party of pioneers, 
preceded the vehicle, removing everything from the road, which 
might cause a jostle to the suiferer. He seemed bright and 
cheerful during the journey, and conversed with spirit concern- 
ing military affairs and religion. The route taken led southward, 
by Spottsylvania Court House, and the distance to Guinea's was 
thus made twenty-five miles. The road was encumbered by the 
army teamsters, usually a rude and uncouth race, conveymg sup- 
plies to the army at Chancellorsville. But when they were told 
that the ambulance contained the wounded General, they made 
way for it with tender respect ; and their frequent reply to the 
escort was : " I wish it was I, who was wounded." At nightfall, 
the party reached the house of Mr. Chandler, near the railroad 



T12 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

station, wliosc hospitality General Jackson had shared the pre- 
vious winter, when he first came from the Valley. Here he was 
gladly received, and everything possible was done for his com- 
fort ; for it was a notable trait of his character, that he inspired 
in all the people, and especially in the purest and most Christian, 
that unbounded devotion, which counted every exertion made 
for him a precious privilege. The house of Mr. Chandler was 
already full of wounded officers, to whom he sent, by his atten- 
dants, most courteous and sympathizing messages. He arrived 
at this resting place wearied and painful, complaining of some 
nausea, and pain in his bruised side ; but still declared that he 
had made the journey with unexpected comfort, for which he 
should be very grateful to God. Referring to his previous 
advantage in the use of the remedies of Freissnhz, he earnestly 
entreated that wet towels should now be placed on his stomach 
and side. Dr. M'Guire consenting to this, the ambulance was 
arrested, fresh water was obtained from a spring on the road- 
side, and the application was made, as he declared, to his great 
relief. When he was removed to his bed at Mr. Chandler's, he 
took some supper with relish, and then spent the night in quiet 
sleep. 

During this journey, it has been remarked. General Jackson 
appeared full of vivacity and hope, conversing with his physi- 
cian, his chaplain, and Mr. Smith, on every topic of common 
interest. He referred again to the Stonewall Brigade, and to 
the proposal which was mooted among them, to ask formal 
authority from the Government to assume that name as their 
own, on their rolls and colors. lie said with enthusiasm: 
" They are a noble body of patriots ; when this war is ended, 
the survivors will be proud to say : ' I was a member of the old 
Stonewall Brigade.' The Government ought certainly to accede 
to their request, and authorize them to assume this title ; for it 



HIS RELIGIOUS CONVEESATION. 713 

was fairly earned." He then, with characteristic modesty, 
addedj that " the name, Stonewall, ought to be attached wholly 
to the men of the Brigade, and not to him; for it was their 
steadfast heroism which had earned it at First Manassa's." 
Some one asked him of the jolan of campaign which Hooker 
had just attempted to execute. He said : " It was, in the main, 
a good conception, sir; an excellent plan. But he should not 
have sent away his cavalry ; that was his great blunder. It was 
that which enabled me to turn him, without his being aware of 
it, and to take him by his rear. Had he kept his cavalry with 
him, his plan would have been a very good one." It may be 
added, in accordance with this verdict of the highest authority, 
that the strategy of the Federal Generals, from that of M'Dowell 
on the first field of Manassa's, onward, was usually good enough, 
had it been seconded by the courage of their troops. The 
Federal is rarely found deficient in anything which cunning or 
diligence can supply; his defect is in the manhood of the sol- 
diery. 

On Monday morning. General Jackson awoke refreshed, and 
his wounds were pronounced to be in an admirable condition. 
He now began to look forward to his restoration to his com- 
mand, and inquired of Dr. M^Guire, how many weeks would 
probably elapse before he would be fit for the field. He also 
requested his chaplain to visit him at ten o'clock each morning, 
for reading the Scriptures and prayer. These seasons were the 
occasions of much religious conversation, in which he unbosomed 
himself with unusual freedom and candor. He declared that his 
faith and hope in his Redeemer were clear. He said he was 
perfectly willing to die at that time ; but believed that his time 
was not yet come, that his Heavenly Father still had a work for 
liim to do in defence of his beloved country, and tliat until that 
was completed, he should be spared. During these morning 

90 



714 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON, 

hourSj he dcliglited to enlarge on Lis favorite topics of practical 
religion ; wliicli were such as these : The Christian should carry 
his religion into everything. Christianity makes man better in 
any lawful calling ; it equally makes the general a better com- 
mander, and the shoemaker a better mechanic. In the case of 
the cobbler, or the tailor, for instance, religion will produce 
more care in promising work, more punctuality, and more fidelity 
in executing it, from conscientious motives ; and these homely 
examples were fair illustrations of its value in more exalted 
functions. So, prayer aids any man, in any lawful business, not 
only by bringing down the divine blessing, which is its direct 
and prime object, but by harmonizmg his own mind and heart. 
In the commander of an army at the critical hour, it calmed his 
perplexities, moderated his anxieties, steadied the scales of judg- 
ment, and thus preserved him from exaggerated and rash con- 
clusions. Again he urged, that every act of man's life should 
be a religious act. He recited with much pleasure, the ideas of 
Doddridge, where he pictured himself as spiritualizing every 
act of his daily life ; as thinking when he washed' himself, of the 
cleansing blood of Calvary; as praying while he put on his 
garments, that he might be clothed with the righteousness of 
the saints ; as endeavoring, while he was eating, to feed upon 
the Bread of Heaven. General Jackson now also enforced his 
favorite dogma, that the Bible furnished men with rules for every 
thing. If they would search, he said, they would find a precept, 
an example, or a general principle, applicable to every possible 
emergency of dut}^, no matter what was a man's calling. There 
the military man might find guidance for every exigency. 
Then, turning to Lieutenant Smith, he asked him, smiling: 
" Can you tell me where the Bible gives generals a model for 
their official reports of battles ? " He answered, laughing, that 
it never entered his mind to think of lookino: for such a thinor in 



HIS SYMPTOMS THEEATENING. 715 

the Scriptures. "Nevertheless," said the General, "there are 
such: and excellent models, too. Look, for instance, at the 
narrative of Joshua's battle with the Amalekites ; there you have 
one. It has clearness, brevity, fairness, modesty ; and it traces 
the victory to its right source, the blessing of God." 

After Monday, the bright promise of his recovery began to be 
overcast ; pain and restlessness gradually increased, and he was 
necessarily limited in conversation. It became necessary again 
to resort to his favorite remedy, the wet napkins, and to employ 
anodynes to soothe his nerves. Under the influence of the opiates, 
his sleep now became disturbed and full of dreams. He several 
times inquired anxiously about the issue of the battles. On 
Tuesday he was told that Hooker was entrenched north of Chan- 
cellorsville ; when he said: "That is bad; very bad." Falling 
asleep afterwards, he aroused himself exclaiming : "Major Pen- 
dleton ; send in and see if there is higher ground back of Chan- 
cellorsville." His soul was again struggling, in his dreams, for 
his invaded country ; and he thought of his artillery crowning- 
some eminence, and thence pelting the intruder from his strong- 
hold. It was also on this day that the whole line of tlie railroad 
was agitated with rumors of the approach of Stoneman's vagrant 
cavalry ; which had attacked Ashland, and was expected to ad- 
vance thence toward Fredericksburg, ravaging all the stations. 
General Jackson expressed the most perfect calmness, in view 
of this danger, and said, that he doubted not if they captured 
him, God would cause them to treat him with kindness. The 
confusion prevalent along the raih-oad had retarded Mr. Morri- 
son in his journey to Ei6hmond ; and now made it dangerous for 
Mrs. Jackson to travel by that route. On Thursday, however, 
she determined to delay no longer, and setting out by railroad, 
reached Mr. Chandler's in the forenoon. 

But meantime, the symptoms of General Jackson's case had 



716 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

become still more ominous. Wednesday brought a cold, drench- 
ing rain, Tvith a chilling atmosphere, unhealthy for his enfeebled 
system. Wednesday evening, Dr. M'Guire, who had scarcely 
permitted himself to sleep for three or four nights, overpowered 
by fatigue, retired to rest. But during the night, the General 
began to complain of an intense pain in his side, and urged his 
servant Jim, who was watching with him, to apply wet towels. 
He complied ; but the remedy failed to bring relief; and as morn- 
ing approached, he summoned the Doctor again. The General 
was found with a quickened pulse, laboring respiration, and severe 
pain. Pneumonia was clearly developed, but not with alarming 
intensity ; the pain and difficult breathing being more accounted 
for by a neuralgic Pleurodinia, constricting the muscles of the 
chest, than by actual inflammation of the lungs. The physician 
therefore resorted to the more vigorous remedies of sinapisms 
and cupping; but with only partial effect. The chaplain was 
now despatched to the army, which had returned to its old 
quarters near Fredericksburg, to bring the General's family 
physician, Dr. Morrison, now chief surgeon of Early's Division. 
Mr. Lacy, while seeking him, called on General Lee, and told him 
that the General's condition was more threatening. He replied 
that he was confident God would not take Jackson away from 
him at such a time, when his country needed him so much. 
" Give him," he added, " my affectionate regards, and tell him to 
make haste and get well, and come back to me as soon as he 
can. He has lost his left arm ; but I have lost my right arm." 
Meq^ntime, Mrs. Jackson had arrived with her infant. The 
duties of the sick room delayed her introduction for an hour, and 
they sought to prepare her feelings for the change which she 
must see in her husband. He had asked for a glass of lemon- 
ade, and some one proposed, as a kindly relief to her anxiety, 
that she should busy herself in preparing it. When Mv. Smith 



MEDICAL AID OBTAESTED. 717 

took it to liim, he tasted, and looking iip; said quickly ; " You 
did not mix this, it is too sweet j take it back." Disease had 
produced a surprising change in his temper in one respect, that 
he who, in health, was almost indifferent to the quality of his 
food and drink, and satisfied with the simplest, had become crit- 
ical and exacting in those particulars. He was now informed 
that Mrs. Jackson had arrived, and expressed great delight. 
When she entered his room, she saw him sadly changed ; his 
features were sunken by the prostration of his energies; and 
were marked by two or three angry scars, where they had been 
torn by his horse, as he rushed through the brushwood. His 
cheeks burned with a swarthy, and almost livid flush. Yet his 
face beamed with joy, when, awaking from his disturbed slum- 
ber, he saw her near him. "When he noted the shade of woful 
apprehension which passed over her face, he said tenderly, " Now 
Anna, cheer up, and don't wear a long face ', you know I love a 
bright face in a sick room." And nobly did she obey. With a 
spirit as truly courageous as that of her warrior husband, she 
commanded her grief, and addressed herself cheerfully to the 
ministry of love. Many a tear was poured out over her uncon- 
scious suckling, yet she returned to his sick room always with a 
serene countenance ; and continued to be, until the clouds of 
death descended upon his vision, what he had delighted to call 
her in the hours of prosperity, his " Sunshine." He now added, 
with reference to his impau'cd hearing, that he wished her to 
speak distinctly while in his room, because he wanted to hear 
every word she said. 

At two o'clock, p. M., Dr. Morrison arrived. When he spoke 
to him, the General looked up, and said affectionately : " That's 
an old, familiar face." His condition was now examined thor- 
oughly, and was found so critical that it was determined to send 
Mr. Smith to Richmond, to bring some female friend to Mrs. 



718 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

Jackson's assistance, and to call in tlic aid of Dr. Tucker, of 
that city, whose skill in pulmonary diseases was greatly valued. 
But the best treatment which medical science could suggest was 
immediately commenced ; and the sj'mptoms of Pneumonia were 
partially subdued. Nature, however, did not rally as this enemy 
receded ; the vital forces were too much exhausted to be effect- 
ually revived. There remained no organic disease of sufficient 
force to destroy the lungs of an infant; but still his ''constitu- 
tional symptoms " grew steadily more discouraging. The causes 
of this decline were several ; the cold which he had contracted 
Friday night ; the fatigue and exhaustion of his long continued 
abstinence, labor and intense excitement during the march and 
battle ; the cruel fall from the litter ; and above all, the fatal 
hemorrhage. It was during the horrid confusion of that night 
combat in the thicket, that his strength was drained away ; the 
deceitful appearance of the succeeding days was but a partial 
flowing again of the tides of life, which were proved too weak 
to fill their accustomed channel, and so ebbed forever. Dur- 
ing his remaining hours, he was at times oppressed by something, 
which was not delirium, but the burthen of a profound prostra- 
tion, combined with the slumberous drugs which were given to 
command his pain. Whenever he was addressed by any one 
whom he knew, he roused himself; and memory, reason and con- 
sciousness were found in full exercise ; but at other times he lay 
witli closed eyes, seemingly engaged in silent prayer, or over- 
come by sleep which was visited with disturbed visions ; and at 
others again, he entered into the conversation around his bed, 
with so much intelligence and animation, that his physicians 
checked his exertions of his failing strength. During Thursday 
night. Dr. Morrison had occasion to arouse him from sleep, to 
take some draught, saying : " "Will you take this, General ? " 
He looked steadily into his face and said : " Do your duty." 



HIS THOUGHTS IN SICKNESS. 719 

Then, as though to signify that he intended what he said, and 
wished the physician to do for him precisely what his judgment 
dictated, he repeated, "Do your duty." His vagrant thoughts 
in sleep were obviously wandering back to the field of strife ; at 
one time he was heard to say quickly : " A. P. Hill, prepare for 
action;" and several times: "Tell Major Hawks to send for- 
ward provisions for the troops." 

On Friday morning Dr. Morrison suggested his fear of a fatal 
termination of his disease. He dissented from this expectation 
positively, and said, precisely in these words, " I am not afraid 
to die ; I am willing to abide by the will of my Heavenly Father. 
But I do not believe that I shall die at this time ; I am per- 
suaded the Almighty has yet a work for me to jjerform." It 
was not at random that he then employed two different tcriBo 
to denote God ; but their use was intentional, and was a remark- 
able manifestation of his religion. The favorite term by which 
he was accustomed to speak of God in the relations of redemp- 
tion to his own soul, as the attentive reader will have noticed 
already, was, " My Heavenly Father." It was this dear name 
which he now used, when he would express his acquiescence in 
the Divine will concerning himself. But when, in the next 
breath, he spoke of the work which he expected God, as the 
Ruler of nations, to assign to him, he called Him " The Al- 
mighty." He also insisted that Dr. M'Guire should be called 
in, and the appeal be made to him. When he entered, he can- 
didly admitted that he shared his fears ; but General Jackson, 
while perfectly willing to die, was still as sturdy as ever in 
declaring his expectation of life. It may be added, that even so 
late as Saturday night, when Dr. Morrison renewed the expres- 
sion of his fears, he still dissented, saying : " I don't think so : I 
think I shall be better by morning." 

On Friday morning Mr. Smith returned from Richmond with 



720 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSOX. 

the additional assistance which he had gone to seek. But medi- 
cal skill could suggest no means to replace the vital forces 
which were surely failing, at the fountain of life. It was on the 
afternoon of this day that he asked Dr. M'Guire whether he 
supposed the diseased persons healed by the miraculous touch 
of the Saviour ever suffered again from the same malady. He 
continued to say, that he did not believe they did ; that the heal- 
ing virtue of the Redeemer was too potent, and that the poor 
paralytic to whom He had once said, " I will : be thou healed," 
never shook again with palsy. He then, as though invoking the 
same' aid, exclaimed : " Oh for infinite power ! " After a season 
of quiet reflection, he said to Mr. Smith, (who, being designed 
for the pulpit, had received a thorough theological training,) 
" what were the Head-quarters of Christianity after the cruci- 
fixion ? " He replied that Jerusalem was at first the chief seat ; 
but after the dispersion of the disciples thence by persecution, 
there was none for a time, until Antioch, Iconium, Rome, and 
Alexandria, were finally established as centres of influence. The 
General interrupted him : " Why do you say ' centres of influ- 
ence ' ! is not Head-quarters a better term ? " He then requested 
him to go on, and Smith, encouraged by Dr. M'Guire, proceeded 
to explain how the Apostles were directed by Divine Provi- 
dence, seemingly, to plant theu- most flourishing churches, at an 
early period, in these great cities, which were rendered by their 
political, commercial, and ethnical relations, " head-quarters " of 
influence for the whole civilized world. Jackson was much 
interested in the explanation, and at its end, said : " Mr. Smith, 
I wish you would get the map, and show me precisely where 
Iconium was." He replied that he thought there was no map at 
hand, where that ancient city would be found. Said the Gen- 
eral, " Yes, Sir : you will find it in the Atlas which is in my old 
trunk." This trunk was searched, but the Atlas was not found 



SEEKS SOLACE IN BIBLE AND SINGING. 721 

there, and Mr. Smith suggested that it was probably left in his 
portable desk. He said : " Yes, you are right, I left it in my 
desk," (mentioning the shelf.) Then, after musing for a moment, 
he added, " Mr. Smith, I wish you would examine into that mat- 
ter, and report to we." His meaning was, that he should refresh 
his knowledge of this interesting feature of the history of the 
infant Church, by reference to books, and thus prepare himself 
to unfold it more fully to him. 

On Saturday morning, while he was suffering cruelly from 
fever and restlessness, and tossing about upon his bed, Mrs. 
Jackson proposed to read him some Psalms from the Old Testa- 
ment, hoping their sublime consolations would soothe his j)ains. 
He at first replied that he was suffering too much to attend, but 
soon after added, "Yes, we must never refuse that; get the 
Bible, and read them." In the afternoon he requested that he 
might see his chaplain. He was then so ill, and his respiration 
so difficult, that it was thought all conversation would be inju- 
rious, and they attempted to dissuade him. But he continued to 
ask so repeatedly a.nd eagerly, that it was judged better to yield. 
When Mr. Lacy entered, he inquired whether he was endeayor- 
ing to further those views of Sabbath observance of which he 
had spoken to him. On his assuring him that he was, he entered 
at some length into conversation with him upon that subject. 
Thus, his last care and labor for the Church of God was an 
effort to secure the sanctification of Plis holy day. As the even- 
ing wore away, his sufferings increased, and he requested Mrs. 
Jackson to sing some psalms, with the assistance of ' all his 
friends around his bed, selecting the most spiritual pieces they 
could. She, with her brother, then sung several of his favorite 
pieces, concluding, at his request, with the 51st Psalm, 

" Show pity, Lord, O Lord forgive." 
91 



722 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

sung to the " Old Hundredth." The night was spent by him in 
feverish tossings, and without quiet sleep. During all its 
weary hours, the attendants sat by his side, sponging his brow 
with cool water, the only palliative of his pain which seemed to 
avail. Whenever they paused, he looked up, and by some ges- 
ture or sign, begged them to continue. 

Thus the morning of Sabbath, the 10th of May, was ushered 
in, a holy day which he was destined to begin on earth, and to 
end in heaven. He had often said that he desired to die upon 
the Sabbath ; and this wish was now about to be fulfilled. His 
end was evidently so near that Dr. Morrison felt it was due to 
Mrs. Jackson to inform her plainly of his condition. She remem- 
bered that he had often said, when speaking of death, that 
although he was willing to die at any time, if it was the will of 
God, he should greatly desire to have a few hours' notice of the 
approach of his last struggle. She therefore declared that he 
must be distinctly informed of his nearness to death ; and ago- 
nizing as was the task, she would herself assume the duty of 
breaking the solemn news to him. He was now lying quiet, and 
apparently oppressed by the incubus of his deep prostration. 
She went to his bedside and aroused him, when he immediately 
recognized her, although he did not appear at first to apprehend 
distinctly the tenor of her announcement. The progress of 
the disease had now nearly robbed him of the power of speech. 
She I'epeated several times : " Do you know the Doctors say, you 
must very soon be in heaven? Do you not feel willing to 
acquiesce in God's allotment, if He wills you to go to-day ? " 
He looked her full in the face, and said, with difficulty : " I pre- 
fer it." Then, as though fearing that the intelligence of his 
answer might not be fully appreciated, he said again : " I iircfer 
it." She said: "Well, before this day closes, you will be with 
the blessed Sa.viour in His glory." He replied with great distinct- 



DYING SCENES. 723 

ness and deliberation : " I will be an infinite gainer to be trans- 
lated." 

He had before requested that the chaplain should preach, as 
usual; at his head-quarters, but he now seemed to be oblivious 
of the fact. When Colonel Pendleton, his Adjutant, entered the 
room, he greeted him with his unfailing courtesy; and then 
asked, who was preaching at head-quarter§. When he was 
told that the chaplain was gone to do it, he expressed much sat- 
isfaction. Mrs. Jackson now determined to employ the fleeting 
moments, to learn his last wishes; first asking for one final 
assurance more, that his Saviour was present with him in his 
extremity. To this he only answered with a distinct " Yes." 
His wife asked him whether it was his will that she and his 
daughter should reside with her father, Dr. Morrison, He 
answered : " Yes, you have a kind and good father ; but no one 
is so kind and good as 'your Heavenly Father." She then 
inquired where he preferred that his body should be buried. To 
this he made no reply. When she suggested Lexington, he 
assented, saying : '' Yes, in Lexington ; " but his tone expressed 
rather acquiescence than lively interest. His infant was now 
brought to receive his last embrace ; and as soon as she appeared 
in the doorway, which he was watching with his eyes, his face 
was lit up with a beaming smile, and he motioned her toward 
him, saying fondly : " Little darling ! " She was seated on the 
bed by his side, and he embmced her, and endeavored to caress 
her with his poor, lacerated hand — while she smiled upon him 
with infantile delight. Thus he continued to toy with her, until 
the near approach of death unnerved his arm, and unconscious- 
ness settled down upon him. 

In his restless sleep, he seemed attempting to speak ; and at 
length said audibly : " Let us pass over the river, and rest 
under the shade of the trees." These were the last words he 



724 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSOX. 

uttered. Was his soul wandering back in dreams to the river 
of his beloved valley, the Shenandoah, (the "river of sparkling 
waters," ) whoso verdant meads and groves he had redeemed 
from the invader, and across whose floods he had so often won 
his passage through the toils of battle ? Or was he reaching for- 
ward across the River of Death, to the golden streets of the 
Celestial City, and^the trees whose leaves are for tlie liealing of 
the nations ? It was to these that God was bringing him, through 
his last battle and victory ; and under their shade he walks, with 
the blessed company of the redeemed. 

His attendants, now believing that consciousness had finally 
departed, ceased to restrain his wife; and she was permitted to 
abandon herself to all the desolation of her grief. But they 
were mistaken. Bowing down over him, her eyes raining tears 
upon his dying face, and , covering it with kisses, she cried: 
" Oh, doctor ; cannot you do something more ? " That voice had 
power to recall him once more, for a moment, from the very 
threshold of heaven's gate ; he opened his eyes fully, and gazing 
upward at her face, with a long look of full intelligence and love, 
closed them again forever. His breath then, after a few more 
inspirations, ceased ; and his laboring breast was stilled. And 
thus died the hero of so many battles, who had so often con- 
fronted death when clothed with his gloomiest terrors ; with his 
last earthly look fixed upon the face which was dearer to him 
than all else, except that Saviour, whom he was next to behold in 
glory. 

While he was thus passing down beneath the shadow of the 
portals of death, two difierent scenes were enacting, connected 
with his fate, contrasted in their actors and accessories as widely 
as the extremes of earth well admit. But it is not easy to 
decide which paid the most touching tribute to the dying warrior. 
Mrs. Chandler, the hostess to whose affectionate hospitality the 



MESSAGE OF LEE. 725 

General was now indebted for a shelter, had a daughter of five 
years old, whose heart he had won, as he stole the hearts of all 
the ingenuous, during his short visit of the previous winter. This 
winning child had noticed the tears which moistened her mother's 
cheeks, as she was engaged about her household duties ; and for 
a long time, had followed her about the house with a restless 
and wistful countenance. At length she ventured to ask : "Mamma, 
will GeneralJackson die ? " She was told that the Doctors said 
they could not save him, and he was going to die. Fixing her 
large, solemn eyes upon her mother's face with a look of intense 
earnestness, she replied : " Oh, I wish God would let me die for 
him, for if I did, you would cry for me ; but if he dies, all the 
people in the country will cry." 

The cotemporancous scene was at the quarters of the Staff of 
General Jackson's corps, where a vast congregation of nearly 
two thousand men, with the Commander-in-Chief, and a brilliant 
assemblage of Generals, was collected for public worship. 
When General Lee saw the chaplain approaching, he met him, 
and anxiously inquired after the sufferer's condition. He was 
told that it was nearly, or quite hopeless ; when with great feel- 
ing he said : " Surely General Jackson must recover. God will 
not take him from us, now that we need him so much. Surely 
he will be spared to us, in answer to the many prayers which 
are offered for him." He afterwards added: " When you return, 
I trust you will find him better. When a suitable occasion offers, 
give him my love, and tell him that I wrestled in prayer for him 
last night, as I never prayed, I believe, for myself. " With these 
words, he hastily turned away, to hide his uncontrollable emotion. 
This message has not yet been delivered. After public worship, 
in which the whole multitude was melted into grief while joining 
in the prayers for his recovery^ Mr. Lacy returned, only to find 
him gone. He had^expired about three o'clock in the afternoon. 



726 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

The dying scene has now been exactly related, without attempt 
at any dramatic embellishment ; for it is believed that this faith- 
ful and homely narrative will be more impressive to every rightly 
constituted mind, than any effort of literary art. Nor will any 
reflections be added, upon the lessons of such a death to the 
hearts of the readers ; but each one will be left, in the silence of 
his own soul, to di-aw them for himself. They are too plain and 
solemn to need repetition. 

Colonel Pendleton immediately informed ■ General Lee, and 
the Governor of the Commonwealth, of the departiu-e of Jackson's 
soul ; and by the latter, it was communicated to the Confederate 
Government. In a few hours the electric telegraph had con- 
veyed the news to all the Confederate States; and to every 
heart it came as a chilling shock. All over the land, hundreds 
of miles away from the regions which he had illustrated by his 
prowess, the people who had never seen his face, grieved for liim 
as men grieve for their nearest kindred. Other countries and 
ages may have witnessed such a national sorrow ; but the men 
of this generation never saw so profound and universal grief, as 
that which throbbed in the heart of the Confederate people at the 
death of Jackson. Women, who had never known him save bj- 
the fame of his virtues and exploits, wept for him as passionately 
as for a brother. The faces of the men were black with dismay, 
as they heard that the tower of their strength was fallen. All 
felt what many mouths expressed, that no language could declare 
their sense of bereavement so well as the requiem of David for 
his princely friend, Jonathan. " How are the mighty fallen in 
the midst of the battle ! Jonathan, thou wast slain in thy high 
places. I am distressed for thee, niy brother Jonathan ; very 
pleasant hast thou been unto me ; thy love was wonderful, pass- 
ing the love of women. How are the mighty fallen, and the 
weapons of war perished ! " Men said t^at they had never 



NATIONAL ESTIMATE. 'l2l 

admitted among their fears of possible calamity, tlie apprclicn- 
sion that Jackson could fall in battle; for he had passed 
unscathed through so many perils, that he seemed to them to 
wear a charmed life. He was to his fellow-citizens the man of 
destiny, the anointed of God to bring in deliverance for his 
oppressed Church and Country. They had seen his form lead- 
ing the van of victory, with such trust as the ancient Hebrews 
reposed in their kings and judges, when they went forth to turn 
to flight the armies of the aliens, anointed with holy oil, and 
guided .to sure triumph by the oracles of Urim and Thummim 
and inspired seers. Even those who did not pray themselves, 
believed with a perfect assurance, that his prayers found certain 
access to the heavens, and that the cause for which he interceded 
was secure under the shield of omnipotence. The people of God, 
with a more intelligent and scriptural trust, gloried in his sanc- 
tity and Christian zeal, as a signal proof that the cause of their 
country was the cause of righteousness, in his pious example as a 
precious influence for good upon their sons who followed his ban- 
ners, and in the homage done to Christ and His Gospel by his 
devotion. His soldiers trusted in his prestige with a perfect 
faith ; for they had seen Fortune perch so regularly upon his 
flag, that the fickleness of her nature seemed to be changed, for 
him, into constancy. Jackson's corps, when fighting under his 
eye, always assailed the enemy with the certain expectation that 
victory, and nothing but victory, was to be the issue. His Com- 
mander-in-Chief, who best knew the value of his sleepless vigi- 
lance, his industry, his wisdom in council, and his vigor in action, 
appreciated his loss most fully of all. Men were everywhere 
speculating with solemn anxiety upon the meaning of his death. 
They asked themselves : Has God " taken the good man away 
from the evil to come ? " Has he adjudged us as unworthy, 
because of our ingratitude and disobedience, of such a deliverer ; 



728 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENEKAL JACESON. 

and after proving us for a time by lending a Jackson to our 
cause, lias He now withdrawn the gift, in judicial displeasure ? 
Or does He only mean to render the example of his military and 
Christian virtues more shining and instructive by his translation, 
and thus, while He teaches us to trust more exclusively in Him- 
self, raise up, after this model, a company of Jacksons, to defend 
their country ? While some answered these questions in both 
ways, according to their temperaments, the greater number wisely 
left them to be solved by God Himself, in the evolution of His 
providence. In one conclusion all agreed, that the imitation of 
Jackson's example by his countrymen would make his people 
invincible, and their final triumph absolutely certain, and that 
this was the practical lesson set forth by God in his life and 
death. 

Gen. Jackson's remains were shrouded by his Staff, Sunday 
evening, in his military garments, and deposited in an open 
coffin of wood, which was procured near by. His coat had 
been almost torn to pieces by his friends, in their eagerness to 
reach and bind up his wounds, the night he fell ; and it was now 
replaced by the civilian's coat which he sometimes wore in his 
hours of relaxation. But his military overcoat covered and 
concealed this exception. The Congcess of the Confederate 
States had a short time before adopted a design for their flag, 
and a large and elegant model had just been completed, the fu'st 
ever made, which was intended to be unfurled from the roof of 
the Capitol. This flag the President now sent, as the gift of the 
country, to be the winding sheet of the corpse. The Governor 
of Virginia, assuming the care of the funeral, sent up a metallic 
coffin, with a company of cmbalmers, on Sunday night, together 
with a deputation of eminent civilians and military men, to es- 
cort the remains to Richmond. During that night they were 
finally prepared for the tomb, and on ]\Ionday morning, May 



CORPSE CAERIED IG RICHMOND. 729 

11th, were conveyed to the Capital by a special train, attended 
by the General's Staff, his widow and her female friends, and the 
Governor's Committee. When they approached the suburb 
through which the Fredericksburg Railroad enters the city, the 
gathering tln-ong warned them to pause and seek a more quiet 
approach for the afflicted ladies. The train was therefore 
arrested, and the wife of the Governor, receiving Mrs. Jackson 
and her attendants into her carriages, drove rapidly and by cir- 
cuitous and less frequented streets, to his Mansion on the Capi- 
tol Square. The cars then slowly advanced into the city, through 
an avenue which, for two miles, was thronged with myriads of 
men and women. Business had been suspended, and the whole 
city, as one man, was come forth to meet the mighty dead. 
Amidst a solemn silence, only broken by the boom of the minute 
guns and the wails of a military dirge, the coffin was borne into 
the Governor's gates, and hidden for the time, from the eyes of 
the multitude,«Qf which the major part were wet with tears. 

For the next day, a great civic and military pomp was de- 
vised, which was thus described in a cotemporary publication. 
" At the hour appointed, the coffin wa-s borne to the hearse, a 
signal gun was fii-ed from near the Washington monument, and 
the procession began to move to the solemn strains of the Dead 
March in Saul. The hearse was preceded by two regiments of 
Gen. Pickett's division, with arms reversed, that General and his 
Staff, the Fayette artillery, and Wren's company of cavalry. 
Behind came the horse of the dead soldier, caparisoned for bat- 
tle, and led by a groom ; his Staff officers, members of the Stone- 
wall Brigade, invalids and wounded ; and then a vast array of 
officials, headed by the President of the Confederate States, and 
members of his Cabinet, followed by all the general officers in 
Richmond ; after whom came a mighty throng of civic digiiita- 
rieS; and citizens. The procession moved through the main 

92 



730 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

• 

streets of the city, and then returned to the Capitol. Every 
place of business was closed, and every avenue thronged with 
solemn and tearful spectators, while a silence more impressive 
than that of the Sabbath, brooded over the whole town. When 
the hearse reached the steps of the Capitol, the pall bearers, 
headed by Gen. Longstreet, the great comrade of the departed, 
bore the corpse into the hall of the lower house of the Congress, 
where it was placed upon a species of altar, draped with snowy 
white, before the Speaker's chair. The coffin was still enfolded 
with the white, blue, and red, of the Confederate flag." 

There the head was uncovered, and the people were permitted, 
during the remainder of the day, to enter and view the features 
of the dead for the last time. The face was found to be in per- 
fect repose ; the livid flush of fever had passed away ; the broad 
and lofty forehead was now smooth and snow white, the cheeks 
thin, and bronzed by sun and breeze, the expressive mouth fii-mly 
closed ; while an expression of shining calm shed a species of 
ghostly radiance over the countenance. During the whole after- 
noon the people streamed through the room, ladies, legislators, 
old men, children, rugged soldiers, in a mingled, silent throng, 
looked a moment on the dead face, and passed out another Avay ; 
until twenty thousand persons had paid this last tribute of affec- 
tion. The women brought some exotic or sweet flower to lay 
upon the coffin ; and these offerings became so numerous, that 
they loaded the whole bier, and the table on which it rested, and 
rose to a great heap. Before the pious interest of the people 
could be satisfied, the hour had arrived for closing the doors, and 
the officials Avarned the throng of people to retire. Just then, a 
mutilated veteran from Jackson's old division, was seen anxiously 
pressing through the crowd, to take his last look at the face of 
Ids beloved leader. They told him that he was too late, that 
they were already closing up the coffin for the last time, and that 



HIS CORPSE CARRIED TO LEXINGTON. 731 

the order had been given to clear the hall. He still struggled 
forward, refusing to take a denial, until one of the Marshals of 
the day was about to exercise his authority to force him back. 
Upon this, the old soldier lifted the stump of his right arm 
toward the heavens, and with tears running down his bearded 
face, exclaimed : " By this arm, which I lost for my country, I 
demand the privilege of seeing my General once more." Such 
an appeal as this was irresistible ; and at the instance of the 
Governor of the Commonwealth, the pomp was arrested until 
this humble comrade had also dropped his tear upon the face of 
his dead leader. And this was the last, and surely, not the least 
glorious tribute which was offered to him, before his remains 
were finally sealed up for the tomb. The Government shrouded 
Jackson in their battle-flag; but the people shrouded him in 
Mayflowers. The former contributed to the funereal pomp the 
outward circumstances of grandeur, the procession, the drooping 
banners, the dirge, and the gloomy thunders of the burial-salute ; 
but the true tribute paid to the memory of Jackson was that 
given by the unprompted homage of the people. No ceremonial 
could be so honorable to him as the tears which were dropped 
around his corpse by almost every eye, and the order, and solemn 
quiet, in which the vast crowds assembled and dispersed. No 
such homage was ever paid to an American. 

On Wednesday, the cofiin, followed now by the widow and the 
General's Staff, was carried by way of^Gordonsville to Lynch- 
burg. At every station the people with a similar spirit, were 
assembled in crowds, with offerings of flowers. At Lynchburg 
the scenes of Richmond were repeated; and fhe remains were 
placed upon a barge in the Canal, to be conveyed in that way to 
Lexington. They reached the village Thursday evening, and 
were borne by the Cadets to the Military Institute, where they 
were laid in the Lecture Room, which Jackson had occupied as 



732 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

professor, and guarded during tlic night by liis formei* pupils. 
Friday, the 15 th of May, they were finally brought forth to the 
church -where he had so much delighted to worship, and commit- 

t 

ted to his venerable and weeping pastor, Dr. "White. This good 
man then celebrated the last rites before a great multitude of 
weeping worshipers, with an unpretending simplicity and ten- 
derness, far more appropriate to the memory of Jackson than 
the pomp of rhetoric. Thence they bore the coffin, followed by 
the whole population of the vicinage, to the village burying- 
ground, and committed it to the earth. His gi'ave was marked 
by nothing but a green mound, and the fresh garlands which the 
love of the people, unbidden, had never forgotten to renew. The 
cemetery covers the smooth crest of- a hill, which swells up at 
the western entrance of the village, and commands a full view 
of all the smiling landscape, and of the grand ramparts of moun- 
tains in which it is encircled. It is a fit resting place for the 
body of the modest hero ; amidst the village fathers, whose vir- 
tues had blessed their happy. Christian homes, with the peaceful 
sounds of domestic life and of the Sabbath worship near by, 
whose sanctities Jackson died to protect from the polluting inva- 
der. At the distance of a few steps rest the remains of his 
lamented comrade. General Paxton, and of his cousin, Alfred 
Jackson, Avho gave his life for the liberties of his native soil, 
which had exiled him for his patriotism. There is no mark to 
distinguish the grave of Jackson, the humblest in all that simple 
resting place ; but the stranger needs none to guide him to it. 
Multitudes of feet, in their pilgrimage to it, have worn a path 
which cannot be mistaken ; and no Confederate ever passes the 
spot without turning aside, to seek a new lesson of patriotism 
and fortitude from the suggestions of the scene. 

The Stonewall Brigade, while expressing their sense of their 
bereavement, asked permission to assume tho task of building 



MILITAEY CHARACTER. 733 

his tomb. An association of gentlemen also began to raise 
funds to erect, at the Capitol, a grand monument to his memory. 
The continuance of the war has prevented the completion of 
both these designs, for the present. It would be tedious to re- 
cite all the formal expressions of sorrow made by the military, 
legislative, and judicial bodies of the country. Only the Gen- 
eral Order of Lee, announcing his death to the army, will be 
appended, as giving utterance in the most happy and dignified 
terms, to the universal grief. 

Headquarters Army op Northern Virginia, > 
May 11th, 1863. 5 

General Orders No. 61. 

With deep grief, the commanding General announces to the army, the death 
of Lieutenant-General T. J. Jackson, Avho expired on the 10th inst., at quarter 
past three, p. m. The daring, skill, and energy of this great and good soldier, 
by the decree of an All- Wise Providence, are now lost to us. But while we 
mourn his death, we feel that his spirit still lives, and will inspire the whole 
army with his indomitable courage, and unshaken confidence in God, as our 
hope and strength. Let his name be a watchword to his corps, who have fol- 
lowed him to victory on so many fields. Let his officers and soldiers emulate 
his invincible determination to do everything in the defence of our helovcd 
country. 

R. E. LEE, General. 

The narrative of Gen. Jackson's career is now closed. The 
full description given of his person, character and capacity at a 
former part of this work, makes it unnecessary to enter at length 
into a discussion of his merits as a commander here. Every 
reader will draw his own conclusions for himself, from the facts 
which have been faithfully related above. But, a few observa- 
tions remain to be made, without which the historical portraiture 
of Jackson would be incorrect. It is to be remarked that, while 
he rose very rapidly, in the first two years of this war, to the 
foremost place as a great soldier, none of his comrades have yet 



734 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

displaced liiin from his eminence. Ilis reputation is manifestly 
no "nine days' Tvonder," but one Avliich is destined to endure, 
and to leave his name among the great of all ages. Few or none 
of those who inhabit Avith him the temple of Fame, won their way 
to it by a career so short. All of the events by which his glory 
was earned, are comprised within two years' time. As a strate- 
gist, the first Napoleon was undoubtedly his model. He had 
studied his campaigns diligently, and he was accustomed to re- 
mark with enthusiasm upon the evidences of his genius. He 
said that he was the first to show what an army could be made 
to accomplish, and to replace the old technical art of war with 
the conceptions of true science. Napoleon had shown Avhat was 
the value of time as an element of strategic combinations, and 
had evinced that good troops could be made, if well cared for, 
to march twenty-five miles daily, and win battles besides. , And 
this war should show that Confederate soldiers could do as 
much. , 

Few generals have waged war with such unvarying success as 
Gen. Jackson. It has been truly remarked of him, that he was 
never routed in battle j that ho was never successfully surprised 
by his enemies j that he never had a train, or any organized por- 
tion of his army, captured by them ; and that he never made en- 
trenchments. His success did not come by chance. While no 
commander recognized so devoutly and habitually the direction 
of Divine Providence, none was ever more unwearied in provid- 
ing the conditions of success. It was his rule that his chief 
Quarterma^er and chief Commissary should see him every da . 
at 10 o'clock, A.M., unless sent for at other hours, and report 
fully the condition of their departments. Twcntj'-four hours 
never passed without interviews with both of thcra ; and he know 
the exact state of all his supplies and trains, at all times. He 
was exceedingly jealous for the comfort of his men, so far as this 



COURTESY. 735 

was compatible with celerity of movement. Many instances 
miglit be cited of his care about their rations. When preparing 
for his march to Romney in the winter of 1862, he directed the 
chief Commissar}!- to carry along rations of rice for the army, in 
addition to the other supplies. That officer remarked that rice 
was not much favored by the men as an article of food, and that 
they seldom drew it when in quarters. The General replied 
that nevertheless, they might desire it when on the march, and he 
did not wish them to be deprived of any part of their appointed 
supplies. Several hogsheads of rice were accordingly carried 
along, and brought back untouched. So, his care of his wounded 
was great, and no commander kept his medical department more 
efficiently organized than he. 

Gen. Jackson's personal demeanor toward his soldiers was 
reserved, but courteous. It was impossible for any to assume an 
improper familiarity towards him ; and no one could be farther 
than he from all the arts of the demagogue. He never did any- 
thing for dramatic effect or for popularity, and never practised 
any of those means for inspiring enthusiasm; in which Napoleon 
was such an adept. The only manifestation which he ever made 
of himself to his command was in the simple, single-minded per- 
formance of his duty. He never was known to show himself, of 
set purpose, to his troops, never made them speeches, and when- 
ever they cheered him, escaped as quickly as possible. But his 
politeness to the men was unfailing, and carried its own evidence 
of sincerity. For instance, he was one day riding where scores 
of soldiers off duty were passing, and whenever one of these 
touched his hat to him he did not fail to return the same saluta- 
tion. After thus noticing perhaps a hundred of them, one more 
deferential than the rest, lifted his hat from his head, when the 
General also, instead of touching his hat again, removed his 
wholly, and returned the soldier's bow. 



736 LIFE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

His ideas of discipline and subordination were strict, and lio 
was exacting of liis subordinates, in proportion as their rank 
approximated his own. It was his maxim that he who would 
govern others, must himself set the example of punctilious obe- , 
dience. Hence, to his Colonels he was a stricter master than to 
his private soldiers ; and to his Generals, more exacting than to 
his Colonels. If he found in an officer a hearty and zealous 
purpose to do all his duty, with a willing and self-sacrificing 
courage and devotion, he was, to him, the most tolerant and gra- 
cious of superiors, overlooking blunders and mistakes with un- 
bounded patience, and repairing them by his own exertions, 
without even a sign of vexation. But, if he believed that bis 
subordinates were self-indulgent or contumacious, he became a 
stern and exacting master, seeming even to watch for an oppor- 
tunity to visit their shortcomings upon them. It must, in candor, 
be added, that by this temper he was sometimes misled into pre- 
judice ; and during his career, a causeless friction was produced 
in the working of his government over several gallant and mer- 
itorious officers who served under him. This was almost the 
sole fault of his military character; that by this jealousy of 
intentional inefficiency, he diminished the sympathy between him- 
self and the general officers next his person, by whom his 
orders were to be executed. Had lie been able to exercise the 
same energetic authority, through the medium of a zealous per- 
sonal affection, he would have been a more perfect leader of 
armies. But where he had committed unconscious injustice, he 
was ever ready to amend it, and to correct his estimate of his 
officers' merits : and nothing was so sure to melt away the last 
particle of his prejudice, as an act of courage and vigor upon 
the field of battle. The utter absence of the Puritanical turn 
of mind in him, was strongly displayed in the liberal spirit with 
which he disregarded his own personal tastes, and even his own 



DEVOTION TO DUTY. COURAGE. 73J 

moral and religious appetencies, in promoting every man who 
displayed the elements of efficiency, notwithstanding his private 
repugnance to his personal character. The man's manners, 
tastes, religious condition, might all be utterly repulsive to General 
Jackson's private preferences, but if he saw in him ability to 
serve the cause, he employed him. Yet all appearance of indif- 
ference to error or vice, or of a Sadducean temper, was removed 
effectually by the care with which he rebuked and suppressed 
every impropriety in his own presence. 

That devotion to duty which he exacted of others, he practised 
with most exemplary fidelity himself Never was there a man 
who lived more " as ever in his great Taskmaster's eye," con- 
secrating every hour and every energy to his country, with an 
utter disdain of ease and self From the day he left his home, in 
April, 1861, to that when he was brought back to it amidst the 
tears and benedictions of his people, he never had a furlough ; 
was never off duty for a day, whether sick or well ,• never visited 
his family ; and never even slept one night outside the lines of 
his own command. 

His personal courage was of the truest temper. When the 
history of his earjy infirmities is recalled, it will appear very 
unlikely that he was by nature endowed with that hardihood of 
animal nerve, which makes the courage of the pugilist and gladi- 
ator. This surmise will appear more probable, when the strange 
confession is related, which he made to his medical director. Dr. 
M'Guire. His care for his wounded and sick has been stated; 
3^et he rarely visited the hospital in person. Ho excused him- 
self by saying that he would often do so, but that when he was 
in cold blood, the sight of wounds and all their disgusting acces- 
saries was insupportable to his nerves ! It was not unusual to 
see him pale and tremulous with excitement at the firing of the 
first gun of an opening battle. But the only true courage is 

93 



738 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

moral courage ; and this was so perfect in liim, that it had abso- 
lutely changed his corporeal nature. No man could exhibit a 
more calm indifference to personal danger, and more perfect self- 
possession and equanimity in the greatest perils. The determi- 
nation of his spirit so controlled his body, that his very flesh 
became impassive; the nearest hissing of bullets seemed to 
produce no quiver of the nerves ; and when cannon balls hurtled 
across his path, there was no involuntary shrinking of the bridle 
hand. The power of concentration was of unrivalled force in 
his mind, and when occupied in profound thought, or inspired with 
some great purpose, he seemed to become almost unconscious of 
external things. This was the true explanation of that seeming 
recklessness, with which he sometimes exposed himself on tlie 
field of battle. The populace, who love exaggerations, called 
him fatalist, and imagined that, like a Mohammedan, he thought 
natural precautions inconsistent with his firm belief in an over- 
ruling Providence. But nothing could be more untrue. He 
always recognized the obligations of prudence, and declared that 
it was not his purpose to expose himself without necessity. 

But this perfect courage docs not wholly explain the position 
which he held in the hearts of his people. In ihis land of heroic 
memories and brave men, others besides Jackson have displayed 
true courage. He was not endowed with several of those native 
gifts which are supposed to allure the idolatry of mankind 
towards their heroes. He affected no kingly mien, nor martial 
pomp ; but always bore himself with the modest propriety of the 
Christian. His port on the battle-field was usually rather sug- 
gestive of the zeal and industry of the faithful servant, than of 
the contagious exaltation of the master-spirit. His was a master- 
spirit; but it was too simply grand to study dramatic sensations. 
It impressed its might upon the souls of his countrymen, not 
through deportment, but through deeds. Its discourses were 



HIS REPUTATION- EXPLAINED. 739 

toilsome marches and stubborn battles ; its perorations were the 
tlmnder-claps of defeat hurled upon the enemies of his country. 
It revealed itself only through the purity and force of his action ; 
and thence, in part, the intensity of the impression. 

This aids to explain the enigma of his reputation. How is it 
that this man, of all others least accustomed to exercise his own 
fancy, or address that of others, has stimulated the imagination, 
not only of his own countrymen, but of the civilized world, above 
all the sons of genius among us ? How has he, the most unromantic 
of great men, become the hero of a living romance, the ideal of 
an inflamed fancy, even before his life has been invested with the 
mystery of distance ? How did that calm eye kindle the fire 
of so passionate a love and admiration in the heart of his 
people ? He was brave ; but not the only brave. He revealed 
transcendent military talent; but the diadem of his country 
glowed with a galaxy of such talent. He was successful ; but it 
had more than one captain, whose banner never stooped before 
an enemy. The solution is chiefly to be found in the singleness, 
purity, and elevation of his aims. Every one who observed him 
was as thoroughly convinced of his unselfish devotion to duty, 
as of his courage, it was no more evident that his was a soul 
of perfect courage, than that no thought of personal advance- 
ment, of ambition or applause, ever for one instant divided the 
homage of his heart with his great cause, and that " all the ends 
he aimed at were his country's, his God's and truth's." The 
corrupt men, whose own patriotism was merely the mask of 
ambition or greedy avarice, and who had been accustomed to 
mock at disinterested virtue in their secret hearts, as an empty 
dream, when they saw the life of Jackson, had as heartfelt a 
conviction of his ingenuous devotion, as the noblest spirits who 
delighted to form their souls by the mirror of his example. In 
the presence of his sincerity, the basest wero as thoroughly 



740 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GEXERAL JACKSON. 

silenced and convinced as the good. The confidence of his coun- 
trymen was, therefore, the testimony of the common conscience 
to the beauty of holiness. It recognized the truth, that the 
strength of Jackson was in his exalted integrity of soul. It was 
the confession of our natures, that the virtue of the Sacred 
Scriptures, is true greatness; grander than knowledge, talent^ 
courage, philosophy or success. 

May it not be concluded then, that this was God's chief lesson 
in this life and death ! He would teach the beauty and pojvcr 
of true Christianity as an element of national life. Therefore He 
took an exemplar of Christian sincerity, as near perfection as the 
infirmities of nature would permit, and formed and trained it in 
an honorable retirement. He set it in the furnace of trial at an 
hour when great events and dangers had awakened the popular 
heart to most intense action ; He illustrated it with that species of 
distinction which, above all others, fires the popular enthusiasm, 
military glory ; and held it up to the admiring inspection of a 
country grateful for the deliverances it had wi'ought. Thus God 
teaches how good, how strong a thing. His fear is. He makes all 
men see and acknowledge, that in this man Christianity was the 
source of those virtues which they so rapturously applauded ; that 
it was the fear of God which made him so fearless of all else ; 
that it was the love of God which animated his energies ; that it 
was the singleness of his aims which caused his whole body to be 
full of light, so that the unerring decisions of his judgment sug- 
gested to the unthinking the belief of his actual inspiration ; that 
the lofty chivalry of his nature was but the reflex of the spirit of 
Christ. Even the profane admit, in their hearts, this explana- 
tion of his power, and are prompt to declare that it was Jack- 
son's religion which made him what lie Avas. His life is God's 
lesson, teaching that " it is righteousness that cxalteth a nation." 

His fall in the midst of the great struggle for the existence of 



HIS FALL TIMELY. HIS STAFF. 741 

his country, and in the morning of his usefulnbss and fame, has 
appeared to his people a fearful mystery. But if his own inter- 
ests be regarded, it will appear a time well chosen for God to 
call him to his rest; when his powers were in their undimmed 
prime, and his glory at its zenith ; when his greatest victory had 
just been won ; and the last sounds which reached him from the 
outer world were the thanksgiyings and blessings of a nation in 
raptures with his achievements, in tears for his fall. 

This tribute to his memory will now be closed with a record 
of the names of the zealous and faithful men, who at the time of 
his death, composed, his Staff. In their selection, he had dis- 
played a certain independence, or what many deemed a singular- 
ity of judgment. Not many of them were men of military educa- 
tion; for he was of all men least restricted by professional 
trammels. But their efficiency was the best justification of his 
judgment. His Adjutant and Chief of Staff, at the time of his 
fall, was the Hon. Charles James Faulkner, lately minister of the 
United States to France : who succeeded General Paxton in this 
office, when the latter took command of the Stonewall Brigade. 
At the battle of Chancellorsville Colonel Faulkner was absent 
on sick leave. The Assistant Adjutant was Lieutenant Colonel 
Alex. S. Pendleton, a zealous and spirited officer, who, after 
rising to the highest distinction, gave his life to his country in 
the disastrous campaign of September, 1864, in the Valley. 
The Chief Quartermaster was Major Jolm Harman, and the 
Chief Commissary, Major Wm. Hawks. The Medical Director 
was Dr. Hunter M'Guire. These four served under Jackson, 
during his whole career. The Chief of Artillery was Colonel S. 
Crutchfield, who was wounded at Chancellorsville a few moments 
after his General. The Chief of Engineers was Captain Bos- 
well, who fell by the same fatal volley which cost Jackson his 
life. He was assisted by Mr. J. Hotchkiss, as Topographical 



742 LIFE OP LIEUT.-GENERAL JACKSON. 

Engineer; an accomplislied draughtsman, ttIiosc useful labors 
arc still continued. Captain Wilbourno conducted the signal 
service. Colonel Allen managed, with unrivalled efficiency, the 
ordnance of the corys. Lieutenants Smith and Morrison were 
Aid es-de- Camp and personal attendants to the General. The 
Inspectors of the cor2)s were Colonel A. Smead, and Captain H. 
Douglass. These gentlemen formed a military family of the hap- 
piest character, and all, excepting those of the supply depart- 
ments, messed together. While their mess table was simple as 
that of the privates of the army ; and the General forbade that 
any luxuries should be habitually introduced, which were excluded 
from the soldiers' rations ; refinement, courtesy, and purity pre- 
sided over all their intercourse. Nothing was ever heard in that 
CLi'cle, which could raise a blusli on the cheek of woman, or pro- 
voke a frown from the sacred ministers of religion. It is no 
detraction from the merit of the gallant men who composed it, 
to say that this propriety was, in part, the result of the elevated 
example of the General. 



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